With more than 170 still missing, communities must reconcile how to pick up the pieces around a waterway that remains both a wellspring and a looming menace.

The Guadalupe River has a history of deadly flooding. Here is a look over the decades. (AP video Marshall Ritzel/Albee Zhang)

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

Flash flooding from heavy rain killed at least three people and prompted dozens of rescues in the Ruidoso area of southern New Mexico, officials said — the same area devastated by wildfires last year.

Officials in North Carolina say there were three potential storm-related deaths amid flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal

The flash flood emergency was triggered at 3 p.m. in Ruidoso on Tuesday, July 8. Swift water teams were out conducting rescues, officials said.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency declaration late Tuesday night, July 8 asking for federal help after Ruidoso was hit by devastating flash flooding. Lujan Grisham said New Mexico is “mobilizing every resource we have but Ruidoso needs federal support to recover from this disaster.

Ruidoso is preparing for another round of monsoon rains as it tries to dig out from historic flooding that killed a man and two children. Dozens of homes have been damaged and crews scrambled Wednesday to clear mud and debris from streets and culverts.