WASHINGTON: Three people were killed by flash floods in the US state of New Mexico, officials said on Tuesday, just days after a devastating deluge claimed more than 100 lives in neighbouring Texas. The “historic” flash floods struck Ruidoso, a small town about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The Village of Ruidoso confirms that three people have tragically lost their lives as a result of the historic flash flooding that swept through the community on July 8, 2025,” an update posted on the village’s official website said. The victims — a man and two children — were caught in rushing floodwaters and carried downstream, according to the statement. Authorities said dozens of rescues had also been conducted, with search operations still underway. The National Weather Service (NWS) declared a flash flood emergency earlier in the day. The NWS said the Rio Ruidoso river may have crested more than 20 feet (six meters), based on a provisional reading. It would be a record, if confirmed. “Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy,” said Mayor Lynn Crawford. Mobile phone videos broadcast on local media showed an entire house being swept away by a torrent. In Texas, rescuers continued to comb through mounds of mud and debris in search of more than 160 people who remain unaccounted for four days after flash floods tore through several counties. But hopes of finding survivors were fading – and Governor Greg Abbott warned that the list of those missing could yet rise. Texas death toll Fears grew on Wednesday that the death toll of 110 in the Texas floods could still surge as hopes fade of finding survivors among the many reported still missing several days after the disaster. More than 170 people remain unaccounted for after the flash flooding on the Fourth of July holiday, a tragedy that shocked many Americans. After torrents of river water roared through several Texas counties — some striking in the middle of the night — rescuers still worked to find bodies and any survivors as state Governor Greg Abbott warned that the final toll was not yet known. Officials in Kerr County, the epicenter of the flooding, on Wednesday confirmed 161 people were known to be missing in the county. Twelve others remain unaccounted for elsewhere in the state. “There very likely could be more added to that list,” Abbott said Tuesday, later posting on X: “Right now, our #1 job is to find every single missing person.” Kerr County, part of a Hill Country region in central Texas known as “Flash Flood Alley,” suffered the most damage, with at least 95 fatalities including 36 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters. Among them are at least 27 girls and counselors at a summer camp on the Guadalupe River when it burst its banks early Friday. Five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing as of Wednesday, plus another child not associated with the camp, Leitha said. Elsewhere in the state, there have been at least 15 fatalities, according to Abbott. More than 2,000 rescue personnel, police and experts have descended on the flood zone in what Leitha described as an “all hands on deck” operation. Ben Baker, with the Texas Game Wardens, said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were difficult because of the water, mud and debris. “When we’re trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it’s very hazardous,” Baker said. Kerrville police officer Jonathan Lamb spoke of heroic rescues by authorities and volunteers who evacuated hundreds of people from their homes or vehicles. Officers went “door to door, waking people up” in Kerr County early Friday and in some cases “pulling them out of windows” of flooding homes and trailers, Lamb told reporters. The National Weather Servi--ce has forecast scattered storms on Wednesday in the Hill Country, including isolated pockets of heavy rain. In the neighboring state of New Mexico, flash flooding left three people dead Tuesday in Ruidoso, the village website said in a statement. Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025