At least three people were killed by historic flash floods that hit a New Mexico mountain community that suffered devastating wildfires last year, officials said late Tuesday.

A flash flood is a rapid rise of water along a stream or in a low-lying urban area, the National Weather Service said. Flash flooding can result from slow-moving thunderstorms, from numerous thunderstorms that develop repeatedly over the same area, or from heavy rains associated with tropical cyclones.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Three people were killed when monsoon rains triggered flash flooding in a New Mexico village, sending walls of water, mud and debris rushing down mountainsides that have been repeatedly scarred over recent years by wildfires and post-fire flooding.