EXCLUSIVE The 'curse' of the monster river that's ripped the heart out of the nation... as officials' toxic claim is exposed as an outrageous LIE
But in the early hours of July 4, after a torrential downpour, a black wall of water swept down the valley, tearing through everything in its path and leaving more than 100 people – including at least 27 camp counselors and children – dead. As rescuers and emergency services comb the destruction for bodies days later and families try to find their loved ones and salvage their homes – it seems at first glance like the floods were the worst kind of freak natural tragedy.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Flash flood destroys New Mexico store at terrifying speed
Devastating footage shows flash floods in New Mexico destroying a mail order business at terrifying speeds. CCTV shared by The Ruidoso Trading Post on Tuesday (8 July) shows water rapidly rising through the business' workspace, as objects in the room rise to the ceiling as water fills the space. The business confirmed that all staff and customers are safe, but their 'workspace has been completely turned upside down' with many items 'washed away'. New Mexico was hit by severe flash flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains on Tuesday, leaving at least three people dead - two of them children - in the mountain village of Ruidoso. The National Weather Service confirmed that multiple houses have been washed away by the intense flooding.
Reuters
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- Reuters
All 31 workers rescued after tunnel collapse in Los Angeles, officials say
July 9 (Reuters) - All 31 workers have been rescued after an industrial tunnel collapsed in Los Angeles' Wilmington area, city officials said late on Wednesday. The tunnel that collapsed had a diameter of 18 ft (5.5 m) and was being constructed for municipal wastewater management, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said in a statement. "LAFD has just reported that all workers who were trapped in the tunnel in Wilmington are now out and accounted for. I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X. The collapse happened about six miles (10 km) south of the tunnel's only access, LAFD said, adding that more than 100 responders were assigned to the incident.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
New Mexico village rebuilds all over again after record-breaking flash flood kills 3
The mountain village of Ruidoso returned to the grim rituals of rebuilding after flash flooding and a deadly natural disaster, just one year after wildfire and intense flooding reshaped the popular vacation getaway and its surroundings. 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. Tracy Haragan, a Ruidoso native 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 said. 'It is such a great town, it just takes a tail-whipping every once in a while. ... We always survive.' An intense bout of monsoon rains set the disaster in motion Tuesday. Water rushed from the surrounding mountainside, overwhelming the Rio Ruidoso and taking with it a man and two children from an RV park along the river. The bodies were found downstream during search and rescue efforts. The children — a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — had been camping with their parents when they were swept away. The father and mother were being treated for injuries at a hospital in Texas, according to officials at Fort Bliss, where the father is stationed. Mayor Lynn Crawford said hearts are broken over the lives lost and stomachs are in knots as residents begin to take stock of the damage. Rebuilding — again 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. Rebuilding again in Ruidoso will be hard, if not impossible, said Riverside RV Park owner Barbara Arthur. Arthur says her guests scrambled up a nearby slope when the river started coursing through the site Tuesday afternoon. She also lost her home in flood. It was the sixth time the river rose in the last several weeks and by far the worst, she said. And Tuesday's rainfall was more than could be absorbed by the hillsides and canyons within a wildfire burn scar. Setting records The floodwaters of the Rio Ruidoso rose more than 20 feet (6 meters) on Tuesday to set a new record high-water mark, said National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Shoemake in Albuquerque. That eclipsed the previously recorded high in July 2024 by nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters). About 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) of rain fell over the South Fork burn scar in just an hour and a half, Crawford said. As little as a quarter of an inch (about 6 millimeters) of rain over a burn scar can cause flooding. 'They were probably already getting some runoff from upstream before it even actually started raining on top of the wildfire burn scar,' Shoemake said. 'It really was just kind of a terrible coincidence of events that led to that.' He likened the intense rainfall to a 100-year storm, which has a 1% chance of happening in any given year. Cleanup begins Emergency crews completed dozens of swift water rescues before the water receded Tuesday. Two National Guard teams and several local crews already were in the area when the flooding began, said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham requested a presidential disaster declaration, tallying more than $50 million in emergency response expenditures, including water rescues, and damage to public infrastructure, including toppled bridges and washed out roadways. The estimate includes flood damage at Ruidoso and beyond from monsoon rainstorms since late June. Ruidoso has also recently requested $100 million in federal aid to convert flood-prone private land to public property after successive years of violent flooding laid bare the dangers of an expanded floodplain. The floods at Ruidoso came just days after flash floods in Texas killed more than 100 people and left more than 160 people missing. Bracing for more Local officials said the village, as the flood hit, was still in the process of replacing outdoor warning sirens destroyed in last year's wildfire and reassessing risks along the local flood plain. Crawford reiterated Wednesday that Ruidoso will continue to be in the crosshairs with each monsoon, as there's still work to do to recover from the wildfire. The rainy season begins in June and runs through September. The river, meanwhile, is running thick with sediment that can settle and raise future water levels. The village's tourism-based economy also has been thrown into turmoil again. With floodwaters running through Ruidoso Downs, one of the horse track's signature races that was scheduled to start Friday has been derailed. The mayor said people are anxious as the monsoon is sure to bring more rain throughout the summer. 'Yesterday was a good lesson — you know, that Mother Nature is a much bigger, powerful force than we are,' he said Wednesday. 'And that we can do a lot of things to protect ourselves and to try to help direct and whatever, but we cannot control.' ___ Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Bryan from Albuquerque. Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Denver and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque contributed to this report.
