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 resort village of Ruidoso was under a flash flood emergency as slow-moving storms left people trapped in homes and prompted water 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.