New Mexico Declares Emergency Over Deadly Flooding

New Mexico's flooding rains killed a man and two children in the Village of Ruidoso and prompted dozens of water rescues in the state's south over Tuesday night, officials said.

N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency declaration late Tuesday "to get federal response teams and repair resources on the ground immediately," she said on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the NWS issued a flash flood warning for the Chicago area and noted 5.06 inches of rain fell in 1 hour and 30 minutes in the city's west.

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford told the KRUI radio station that crews were out searching for three missing people and there were gas leaks in an area where he believes a home was swept away.

The NWS' Albuquerque office reported that multiple water rescues were underway at the village's Gavilan Trailer Park.

A man age 40 to 50 died, along with a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy after being "swept downstream by the unprecedented floodwaters that struck the area," per a Village of Ruidoso statement.

"All three individuals were caught in the rushing floodwaters and carried downstream during the catastrophic flooding event that saw the Rio Ruidoso rise to a record-breaking 20 feet — five feet higher than the previous record."

There were 85 "swift-water rescues" in the Ruidoso area following the extreme monsoonal rains as of Tuesday night, a New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management official told outlets.

Images from the scene showed multiple structures destroyed.

Roads were temporarily closed and crews were working to restore power following outage reports, according to Crawford. "We do have some mud sliding going on," he said.

Videos from the scene show fast-moving waters sweeping a home down a river and washing debris onto a bridge that then spills onto a road.