A damaged truck is seen on the banks of the river in Ruidoso, N.M. Wednesday, a day after major flooding washed away properties and Rv's along the Rio Ruidoso Tuesday afternoon. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)

RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) — Broken tree limbs, twisted metal, crumpled cars and muddy debris remained Wednesday as crews worked to clear roads and culverts in the wake of a flash flood that descended upon the New Mexico mountain community of Ruidoso, killing three people and damaging dozens of homes.

An intense bout of monsoon rains set the disaster in motion Tuesday. Water rushed from the surrounding mountainside, overwhelming the Rio Ruidoso and taking with it a man and two children from an RV park along the river. The bodies were found downstream during search and rescue efforts.

The children — a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — had been camping with their parents when they were swept away. The father and mother were being treated for injuries sustained in the flooding at a hospital in Texas, according to officials at Fort Bliss, where the father is stationed.

Mayor Lynn Crawford said hearts are broken over the lives lost and stomachs are in knots as residents begin to take stock of the damage.

A popular summer retreat, Ruidoso is no stranger to tragedy. It has spent a year rebuilding following destructive wildfires last summer and the flooding that followed.

Tuesday’s rainfall was more than could be absorbed by the hillsides and canyons within the burn scar.

Officials urged residents to seek higher ground as the Rio Ruidoso rose to more than 20 feet, according to preliminary data recorded by a U.S. Geological Survey gauge. That was nearly 5 feet more than the previous high the year before.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings throughout Tuesday, with an upgraded emergency notification coming at 2:47 p.m. Most of the precipitation fell sometime between about 2:30 and 4 p.m.

“We received three and a half inches of rain on the South Fork burn scar in about a 90-minute period. That water came directly into our community and impacted the community head on,” Mayor Crawford said during a news conference.

As little as a quarter of an inch of rain over a burn scar can cause flooding.

The floods came just days after flash floods in Texas killed more than 100 people and left more than 160 people missing.

Mayor Crawford reiterated Wednesday that Ruidoso will continue to be in the crosshairs with each monsoon, as there’s still work to do to recover from the wildfire. The rainy season begins in June and runs through September.