A flash flood overtook the Ruidoso area in New Mexico on Tuesday, July 8, prompting an emergency declaration and multiple rescues.

A man who saw the flash flood that descended upon the New Mexico mountain community of Ruidoso, killing three people and damaging dozens of homes, described the scenes as "unbelievable."

The flash flooding that hit the US state on Tuesday killed three people, including a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy.

In the early hours of July 4, the only sound many of the vacationers along the banks of the Guadalupe River would have heard was pounding rain and thunder. They didn’t get any official warning of the rapidly rising waters that ultimately proved deadly to dozens of people swept away in central Texas flash floods.