The two children were identified as Charlotte Trotter, 4, and Sebastian Trotter, 7, according to their aunt Tiffanie Wyatt. She said their father, Sebastian Trotter, a solder based at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and their mother, Stephanie, both suffered serious injuries but survived and were receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Texas.

The children, ages four and seven, were swept downstream by a flash flood after the Rio Ruidoso river rose to a record-setting 20 feet.

As residents and businesspeople in Ruidoso assess the damage caused by heavy and dangerous flooding, others can find ways to help. Here is what to know.

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

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was in Ruidoso on Thursday, July 10, 2025, where she reported federal funding will be coming.

Forecasters warn of 2 to 3 inches of rain per hour Sunday, with a risk of flooding on burn scars and just east of the mountains.

The National Weather Service in Pueblo issued a flash flood warning Saturday evening for Costilla and Huerfano counties in southern Colorado. The impacted area is about 35 miles north of the New Mexico state line.

Severe thunderstorms will head east by Saturday, impacting eastern Michigan and parts of northern Indiana. Rain from 1 to 2 inches is possible as the system tracks east, but some areas could see isolated amounts of 3 to 5 inches through the weekend.