3 killed in Navajo Nation flood include 7-year-old preparing for her birthday

Three generations of a Navajo family were heading home from picking up supplies for an 8th birthday party when their truck got stuck in mud as storms with heavy rain rolled through the area.

The aftermath of flash flooding in Mexican Springs, New Mexico on the eastern part of the Navajo Nation is shown on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (Photo: AP)

Kalisi Begay opted to walk home while her mother and 7-year-old daughter stayed behind. The water rose quickly. Soon the grandmother and granddaughter, along with a friend they had called for help, were swept away in the floodwaters while trying to cross a wash.

Elsie Begay, her granddaughter Lucy Allison Mike, and Begay’s best friend Dora Franklin died in the flood Tuesday near Newcomb, New Mexico, a community of about 400 people, family members said Friday.

“I think she was just wanting to get home,” said Stella Wilson, Begay's niece.

Flash flooding across the Navajo Nation this week has damaged roads, forced evacuations and claimed the three lives as a late-season surge of monsoon moisture brings heavy rain to the Four Corners region. Navajo police said three families in Shiprock, New Mexico, were evacuated Friday evening 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 road damage and rain continued to fall. Multiple roads on the Navajo Nation remained closed Friday.

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

About 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Newcomb in the small community of Mexican Springs, flooding made many dirt and gravel roads impassable, stranding some families and leaving others unable to reach home.