Three Killed in Navajo Nation Flash Flood Near Newcomb, New Mexico

Tragic Details of the Newcomb Flash Flood

According to accounts shared with The Associated Press by family members, the family was heading home after picking up supplies for Lucy’s upcoming 8th birthday party. Their truck became stuck in deep mud as heavy monsoon rains hit the area. Kalisi Begay chose to walk home for help while her mother, Elsie, and her daughter, Lucy, remained by the vehicle. As water levels rose rapidly, Elsie, Lucy, and Franklin—who had been called to assist—were swept away in the floodwaters while trying to cross a wash near Newcomb, a community of approximately 400 residents.

“I think she was just wanting to get home,” Stella Wilson, Elsie Begay’s niece, told The Associated Press.

Elsie Begay worked as a business technician at Sanostee Day School, where young Lucy was enrolled as a third grader and was recently crowned “Miss Sanostee Day School” on September 4. Dora Franklin worked as a school bus driver for another nearby facility. Family members noted that both women were deeply dedicated to local children, with Begay decorating the school office for holidays and Franklin handing out candy to students boarding her bus.

Navajo Nation Response and Emergency Declarations

The late-season surge of monsoon moisture caused widespread destruction across the Navajo Nation, damaging local infrastructure, closing roads, and prompting emergency evacuations. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren declared a state of emergency on Friday as standing water isolated several communities and severe weather persisted, according to The Associated Press.

“Please use alternate routes, check on our elders and relatives, and follow the guidance of our emergency personnel,” President Nygren said in a statement reported by The Associated Press.

Navajo police reported that three families in Shiprock, New Mexico, were evacuated on Friday evening due to rising water levels near the San Juan River. Approximately 40 miles south of Newcomb in Mexican Springs, heavy flooding washed out culverts and left dirt and gravel roads completely impassable, stranding numerous residents, according to local maintenance worker Darnell Etsitty.

Local authorities converted the Mexican Springs Chapter House into a temporary shelter, while community volunteers utilized all-terrain vehicles to deliver essential food, water, and supplies to isolated households.