The mountain village of Ruidoso has returned to the grim rituals of rebuilding from flash flooding. Crews are working to clear twisted metal, broken trees and muddy debris from streets and homes days after monsoon rains triggered a deadly flash flood in southern New Mexico.

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 7-year-old and 4-year-old who died after flash flooding overtook a village in New Mexico earlier this week have been identified as Sebastian and Charlotte Trotter, the children of a U.S. army soldier,

A house with a turquoise door became a widely shared image of flooding in southern New Mexico when it was swept past a brewery that was designated a safe spot for anyone seeking higher ground.

The neighbouring state of Texas also experienced a major flood just a few days earlier, but with a very different outcome. The ferocity of the inundation in Texas caught forecasters and state officials by surprise, killing at least 119 people.

Surveillance camera footage, which was sped up, captured rising floodwaters filling up The Ruidoso Trading Post in New Mexico in a matter of minutes.