Historic rainfall leads to deadly flooding in New Mexico: a timeline of emergency alerts

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three people died in flooding Tuesday as New Mexico’s Rio Ruidoso’s banks swelled amid the summer rainy season.

The village of Ruidoso and other parts of New Mexico have received more warnings in the past few years as catastrophic wildfires have left vast swaths of once forested land without enough vegetation to absorb and hold back storm runoff.

If a storm lingers over one of these burn scars, it doesn’t take much to create trouble. Ruidoso, a popular summer retreat in the mountains of southern New Mexico, was the recipient this time, getting what officials called historic rainfall that caused the death of three people and left dozens of homes damaged.

The Associated Press reviewed a database of the National Weather Service’s emergency alerts. Here’s a look at the warnings that preceded the deadly flooding:

2:15 p.m.

The NWS in Albuquerque sent a Wireless Emergency Alert to cellphones in the Ruidoso area announcing a flash flood warning. It cited the South Fork burn scar, saying flash flooding was expected to begin shortly and would affect areas along the Rio Ruidoso and downstream of Ruidoso Downs.

WEA alerts are targeted to cellphones in a geographic area. They can appear as the pop ups on our phones and or text messages. The language differs based on the cellphone capabilities, but each initial alert communicated the need to avoid flooded areas.

2:47 p.m.

The NWS triggered another wireless alert, upgrading the situation to a flash flood emergency for Ruidoso. At this point, Rio Ruidoso remained at just under 1.5 foot (0.45 meters) high. However, the alert emphasized a “particularly dangerous situation” and those in areas in and around the South Fork scar should “seek higher ground now” and evacuate.

The Lincoln County Office of Emergency Services followed up shortly after with an alert warning that flash flooding was imminent in the Cedar Creek area and warned people to “move to higher ground immediately.”

Two more alerts followed, one from the NWS and another from Ruidoso Emergency Management, which stated that flash flooding had been observed along the Rio Ruidoso just before 3 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

A U.S. Geological Survey gauge along the Rio Ruidoso, located just north of a commercial district along U.S. Highway 70, recorded a water level increase from 1.5 feet (0.45 meters) to nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters).

Minor flooding can occur at 10 feet (3 meters) at that location, per the USGS data.

At the same time, Lincoln County emergency officials sent an alert to cellphones regarding imminent flash flooding in the Ruidoso Downs area, just east of the USGS river gauge.

3:55 p.m.

Rio Ruidoso rose to more than 20 feet (6 meters), according to preliminary data recorded by the USGS gauge.