New Mexico landslides and avalanches
Every recorded landslide or avalanche record since 1996 · 11 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 27 landslide and avalanche records in New Mexico from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 3.3 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 8, 2025 debris flow in Lincoln County: 3 deaths, 2 injuries and $50.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars. New Mexico ranks 16th of 37 states and territories by count and 20th of 37 per square mile.
Landslides and avalanches in New Mexico, 1996 to 2026
Landslide records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 271996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 3.3average
- Deaths
- 53 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $60Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 202511 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are landslide and avalanche records common in New Mexico?
New Mexico averages about 3.3 landslide and avalanche records a year since 2000, 16th of 37 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2025 (11). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Mexico records 2.2 landslide and avalanche records since 1996, 20th of 37 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New Mexico have the most landslide and avalanche records?
Per square mile, Taos County leads New Mexico: 7 days with a landslide or avalanche record since 1996, 3.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Lincoln County has the most landslide records (12 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the slide season in New Mexico?
41% of its landslide and avalanche records since 1996 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (8 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1 · Feb 1 · Mar 2 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 8 · Jul 3 · Aug 8 · Sep 3 · Oct 1 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest landslide and avalanche records in New Mexico?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-08 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County Extremely heavy rainfall from slow moving thunderstorms resulted in catastrophic flash flooding and destructive debris flows on and downstream of the South Fork burn scar. Debris flows and a record rise on the Rio Ruidoso from 1.43 feet to 20.24 feet in approximately 30 minutes overtopped bridges and roads, pushed ... | 3 | 2 | $50M | |
| 2019-01-17 | AvalancheColfax County and Taos County · forecast zone Northern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet/Red River An avalanche at Taos Ski Valley at 11:30 am on January 17, 2019 took the lives of two skiers. 26-year old Matthew Zonghetti died at a hospital in Taos, NM later in the day on January 17, 2019 and 22-year old Corey Borg died at the UNM Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM on January 21, 2019. | 2 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest landslide and avalanche records in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-08 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 3 | 2 | $50M | |
| 2024-06-29 | Debris FlowRuidoso, Lincoln County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $9.9M | |
| 2026-06-26 | Debris FlowJemez Spgs, Sandoval County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-07-31 | Debris FlowRed River, Taos County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-06-26 | Debris FlowChilili, Bernalillo County | 0 | 0 | $25K | |
| 2025-09-18 | Debris FlowRuidoso, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | $10K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are landslide and avalanche records becoming more frequent in New Mexico?
New Mexico's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New Mexico | United States | New Mexico's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 0 | 98 | 0 |
| 2000s | 1 | 790 | 0.1% |
| 2010s | 3 | 1,304 | 0.2% |
| 2020-26 | 23 | 1,224 | 1.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent landslide and avalanche records in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Debris FlowJemez Spgs, Sandoval County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-10-15 | Debris FlowQuesta, Taos County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-09-18 | Debris FlowRuidoso, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-08-26 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-18 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-17 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-12 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-01 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-31 | Debris FlowRed River, Taos County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-07-22 | Debris FlowRuidoso, Lincoln County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-08 | Debris FlowAlto, Lincoln County | 3 | 2 | $50M | |
| 2025-06-26 | Debris FlowChilili, Bernalillo County | 0 | 0 | $25K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for landslide and avalanche records in New Mexico
FEMA has declared 3 disasters in New Mexico for landslide and avalanche, counting its incident type and declarations that name landslide or mudslide in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 2 were major disasters, the latest on July 22, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-22 | DR-4886 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides | 4 |
| 2025-07-10 | EM-3628 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides | 4 |
| 2013-10-29 | DR-4152 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides | 26 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Taos County: the county's whole recordThe New Mexico county with the most landslide and avalanche records per square mile
- Landslides and avalanches across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in New MexicoTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Drought in New Mexico6,408 records
- Hail in New Mexico5,297 records
- High wind and dust storms in New Mexico4,278 records