Three Dead in Navajo Nation Flood, Including 7-Year-Old

Three generations of a Navajo family were heading home from picking up supplies for an 8th birthday party when their truck became stuck in mud as storms with heavy rain moved through the area, leading to the deaths of three people in flash floods on the Navajo Nation.

Kalisi Begay opted to walk home while her mother and 7-year-old daughter remained in the truck. The water rose rapidly, and soon the grandmother, granddaughter, and a friend they had called for assistance were swept away while attempting to cross a wash. Elsie Begay, her granddaughter Lucy Allison Mike, and Begay’s friend Dora Franklin died Tuesday near Newcomb, New Mexico.

Flash flooding across the Navajo Nation this week has damaged roads, prompted evacuations, and claimed these three lives. A late-season surge of monsoon moisture has brought heavy rain to the Four Corners region. On Friday evening, Navajo police reported that three families in Shiprock, New Mexico, were evacuated due to rising water levels and flooding near the San Juan River.

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren declared a state of emergency Friday as some communities remained isolated by standing water and damaged roads, with rain continuing to fall. Multiple roads on the Navajo Nation were closed Friday.

"Please use alternate routes, check on our elders and relatives, and follow the guidance of our emergency personnel," Nygren stated. Approximately 40 miles south of Newcomb, in the community of Mexican Springs, flooding rendered many dirt and gravel roads impassable, stranding some families and preventing others from reaching their homes.

"A lot of ditches are washed out, the culvert pipes are gone. There’s big old, massive holes in the road," said Darnell Etsitty, a local government maintenance worker who was working Friday to create alternate routes. The Mexican Springs Chapter House has been converted into a temporary shelter, with volunteers using ATVs to deliver food, water, and supplies to stranded households.

Elsie Begay was a business technician at Sanostee Day School, where Lucy Allison Mike attended as a third grader. Franklin was a bus driver for another nearby school. Family members noted that Begay and Franklin were dedicated to working with children. Begay would decorate the school's front office for holidays and make visitors feel welcome, while Franklin would give candy to students as they boarded the bus. Begay also participated in fundraisers and community events.

Mike was crowned "Miss Sanostee Day School" on September 4 and had been looking forward to her 8th birthday party scheduled for the following Tuesday. She was described as "beautiful" and "bright" by a relative and was considered "a big blessing to her family."