2 dead as severe flooding threat persists in southwestern US

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A second person has died from flooding caused by monsoon-type rains in far western Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizona.

A 2-year-old girl died Friday of injuries she suffered in the collapse of a basement wall at her family’s El Paso, Texas, home, said Angel Gómez, head of Operation HOPE in El Paso, the nonprofit helping the family with funeral arrangements. The girl’s 65-year-old grandmother also was killed in the Thursday night collapse in the family’s flooded basement, he said.

Loop 375, the only direct link between northeast El Paso and the communities west of the Franklin Mountains, remained closed by a rockslide.

Flash flood watches remain for the three-state border region through Sunday afternoon as moist air flows north from Mexico.