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 floods surged through in the middle of the night, but many local officials appeared unaware of the unfolding catastrophe, initially leaving people near the river on their own.

Search and rescue operations in Texas continue after heavy rainfall overwhelmed the Guadalupe River, sending floodwaters roaring through the area.

Satellite imagery of Camp Mystic and other areas along the Guadalupe River shows the devastating aftermath of the Fourth of July floods in Texas.