Sandbags protect a building in Ruidoso, New Mexico after floods swept through town in July of 2024. This week's floods rose significantly higher. Photo: The Washington Post

At least three people were killed by historic flash floods in a New Mexico mountain community that suffered devastating wildfires last year, officials said late Tuesday.

Flash flooding from heavy rain killed at least three people and prompted dozens of rescues in the Ruidoso area of southern New Mexico, officials said — the same area devastated by wildfires last year.

Broken tree limbs, twisted metal, crumpled cars and muddy debris remained as crews worked to clear roads and culverts in the wake of Tuesday's flash flood that killed three people — including two children — and significantly damaged as many as 50 homes, with one home carried away entirely.

Officials in southern New Mexico say the number of homes destroyed and damaged by a deadly flash flood will only rise as crews survey more neighborhoods in the mountain village of Ruidoso

Up to 18 inches of rain fell between Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, 2007, triggering flash floods that are still considered some of Minnesota's worst. It killed seven people and caused $179 million in damages, mostly in Winona, Fillmore and Houston counties.

A New Mexico mountain village is preparing for another round of monsoon rains as it tries to dig out from historic flooding that killed a man and two children.

Ruidoso's surge follows deadly flooding in Texas, where authorities reported more than 160 people missing in the aftermath of catastrophic storms.