Floods, record rainfall hit New Mexico

RUIDOSO, N.M., July 28 (UPI) -- Two people were reported missing and 700 more were evacuated as weekend floods fueled by the remnants of Hurricane Dolly raced through southern New Mexico.

An adult and a child last seen near the rain-swollen Rio Ruidoso were unaccounted for Sunday and feared swept away, and residents of towns nestled in the Sacramento Mountains were forced to flee the rising waters, the Albuquerque Journal reported Monday.

Meteorologists said an estimated 6.6 inches of rain fell in Ruidoso, N.M., over a 48-hour period. The state's official single-day rainfall record of 2.3 inches was shattered when an estimated 4.6 inches fell there Saturday night and Sunday morning, the newspaper said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ordered the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to provide residents with "whatever state assistance is needed" and ordered New Mexico's National Guard onto stand-by status to help in Ruidoso or Otero County.