Deadly New Mexico floods damage at least 200 homes

By Morgan Lee Susan Montoya Bryan and Roberto E Rosales Associated Press RUIDOSO N M At least homes were damaged during a deadly flash flood in the mountain village of Ruidoso and local crisis managers warned Wednesday that number could more than double as teams survey more neighborhoods Gov Michelle Lujan Grisham was among the leaders who took an aerial tour of Ruidoso and the surrounding area as they looked to bolster their event for more federal assistance for the locality which has been battered over the past year by wildfires and repeated flooding Related Articles Small Texas town where everyone survived flood has sirens A decade of missed opportunities Texas couldn t find million for flood warning system near camps Hundreds join prayer arrangement for Bay Area family missing in Texas floods Child dies injured after tree falls at California summer camp FEMA cost controls delayed response to deadly floods The governor explained the state has received partial approval for a federal exigency declaration freeing up personnel to help with search and rescue efforts and matter management She called it the first step saying Ruidoso will need much more We will continue working with the federal establishment for every dollar and deposit necessary to help this resilient public fully recover from these devastating floods she commented An intense bout of monsoon rains set the calamity in motion Tuesday afternoon Water rushed from the surrounding mountainside overwhelming the Rio Ruidoso and taking with it a man and two children who had been camping at a riverside RV park Their bodies were exposed downstream One person is still unaccounted for Lujan Grisham expressed her condolences and wished a speedy recovery for the parents of the -year-old girl and -year-old boy who were killed She revealed it will be an emotional journey There are no words that can take away that devastation she explained We are truly heartsick Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury whose district includes Ruidoso and surrounding Lincoln County reported reporters more rain is coming and that residents remain at threat She urged people to follow crisis orders saying we cannot lose another life A public rebuilds again Broken tree limbs twisted metal crumpled cars and muddy debris remain as crews work to clear roads and culverts wrecked by the flooding Tracy Haragan a lifelong Ruidoso resident on the verge of retirement watched from his home as a surging river carried away the contents of nine nearby residences You watched everything they owned everything they had everything went down he commented A popular summer retreat Ruidoso is no stranger to tragedy It has spent a year rebuilding following destructive wildfires last summer and the flooding that followed This time the floodwaters went even higher with the Rio Ruidoso rising more than feet meters on Tuesday to set a record Authorities announced the area received about inches centimeters of rain over the South Fork burn scar in just an hour and a half It is such a great town it just takes a tail-whipping every once in a while Haragan revealed We invariably survive Requests for aid The river runs thick with sediment that can settle and raise water levels Stansbury disclosed already-promised federal funding to remove silt from the riverbed could mitigate future flooding but that the region would need help for the next decade after suffering successive catastrophes Lujan Grisham commented the federal leadership likely will advance million to jumpstart recovery efforts That amount could climb to more than million in the coming months as Ruidoso tries to rebuild and mitigate future floods After the flooding Ruidoso tapped funding from the U S Department of Agriculture to improve tragedy preparedness through sediment removal seeding new plants fencing that detains bridge-smashing debris and flood fences made of bags and boxes filled with rocks sand or soil to channel water away from structures Chosen of it did hold up in certain spots and specific of it didn t Ruidoso village spokesperson Kerry Gladden reported It was just a very powerful surge of water that came down the mountain Additionally Ruidoso lately requested million in federal aid to convert flood-prone private land to residents property after successive years of violent flooding The governor announced officers need to rethink how to spend funds to reduce the flood pitfall and restore watersheds and forests The mayor underscored that the flooding had damaged water lines and distribution points for potable drinking water Jewelry washed away Arnold Duke the owner of Ruidoso Trading Post spent all day Wednesday digging for Native American jewelry in the mud after floodwaters rushed through a warehouse forcing three employees to flee leaving their cellphones and purses behind If they had stayed another minute I don t know if they would have made it out Duke commented Slow-moving floodwaters caused minor problems in the warehouse last year but this week it was immersed by a wall of water he declared Duke estimates they they have recovered about of pieces of jewelry lost in the flood The business retail store was not flooded It s never been this big before Duke reported Lee released from Santa Fe and Bryan from Albuquerque Associated Press writers Matthew Brown in Denver and Christopher L Keller in Albuquerque contributed