Five rescued from floods in New Mexico, less than month after storms killed three in same area

Heavy rain and flash floods caused five water rescues and multiple evacuations in southeastern New Mexico, less than a month after flooding in the same area killed three people.

On Thursday afternoon, the Rio Ruidoso in Lincoln County rose over 12 feet, prompting five water rescues of stranded motorists and at least 14 evacuations, local officials told KOAT and The New York Times.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries, the officials said, and flood waters began receding around 2pm local time.

“Move to higher ground immediately!” Lincoln County officials wrote in a Facebook post early Thursday afternoon. “Do not delay gathering belongings or try to protect your home.”

The flooding caused road closures, and residents shared videos of muddy flood waters inundating roads and ripping apart a riverside mobile home.

The rains impacted a burn scar left by recent wildfires, sending loose earth into the river near the village of Ruidoso.

The area near Ruidoso remains under a flood advisory from the National Weather Service.

Flooding along the river earlier this month killed three people and damaged at least 35 homes.

Summer rains have also impacted other parts of New Mexico.

On Tuesday, severe flooding in Doña Ana County caused at least 15 emergency transports to an evacuation shelter, while search and rescue teams saved 20 people and their pets.

The natural disasters come amid doubts about the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which the Trump administration has threatened to shutter entirely, moving disaster response to the states.

Despite the threats, the administration announced this week four states that’ve been hit by disasters will get federal funding: Indiana, which experienced deadly tornadoes in March; Michigan, which experienced ice storms in March; Kentucky, which experienced flooding and tornadoes in April and May; and West Virginia, which experienced flooding and tornadoes in June.

The administration plans to defer to local leaders, while still providing federal fundings, according to the White House.

No official action has been taken to phase out FEMA, a White House official recently told The Independent.

The climate crisis is making floods more deadly across the U.S.