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Investigation finds staffing gaps before deadly 2025 Ruidoso flood

Illustration accompanying article: Investigation finds staffing gaps before deadly 2025 Ruidoso flood
  • Five rescuers told ProPublica that Village of Ruidoso leaders gave them too little training before the July 8, 2025 flood.
  • Five rescuers told ProPublica that Village of Ruidoso leaders dispatched too few personnel before the flood.
  • Internal Ruidoso Fire Department records show Fire Chief Cade Hall called in the full department at 3:10 p.m., 45 minutes after the first flood-related rescue call.
  • The July 8 flood killed Stephanie Trotter’s 4-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, along with an adult man; Sebastian Trotter survived.
  • Stephanie and Sebastian Trotter said the family received no National Weather Service automated alerts before the flood reached Riverview RV Park.
  • The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management sent the Las Cruces swiftwater team home after the late-June forecast showed a slightly decreased chance of flash flooding.
 2026-10-21 · 4 MIN READ

Six deaths confirmed in Florida from Hurricane Isaias, DeSantis says

Illustration accompanying article: Six deaths confirmed in Florida from Hurricane Isaias, DeSantis says
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed six deaths in the state linked to Hurricane Isaias at a Tuesday press conference, including two previously confirmed fatalities.
  • The deaths include a tree falling on a home, a generator-related death in Escambia County, a car accident at an intersection, and storm-related disruptions to two people's medical treatment.
  • About 5,000 Florida residents remain without power north-west of where the storm made landfall late Friday, with free supplies being distributed to affected residents.
  • Isaias is the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season and the first to make continental US landfall since Hurricane Milton struck western Florida in October 2024.
  • The first hurricane of an Atlantic season has not formed this late since 8 October 1905, a date that predates the satellite era for tracking hurricanes.
 2026-10-13 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Santa Rosa County reports most roads impassable, more than 80% without power