The mountain village of Ruidoso has returned to the grim rituals of rebuilding from flash flooding. Crews are working to clear twisted metal, broken trees and muddy debris from streets and homes days after monsoon rains triggered a deadly flash flood in southern New Mexico.

Back-to-back flooding disasters in recent years — in Texas, New Mexico and Kentucky, among many others — have showed that preparing for flash flooding is a new necessity as the planet warms.

Recent flash flooding in Texas​, New Mexico​ and North Carolina​ is highlighting the extreme danger of these natural disasters and the need to be prepared.

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.

When the precipitation intensified in the early morning hours Friday, many people failed to receive or respond to flood warnings at riverside campsites known to be in the floodplain.

A Chicago flash flood warning went out Tuesday night as the city experienced some of its heaviest rain since 2023. More than 4 inches fell in less than 90 minutes on the West Side.

As 27 million Americans are under severe thunderstorm and flash flood watch on Wednesday, a line of strong storms packing intense rainfall is threatening the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Major I-95 cities -- Philadelphia,