As washed-out roads isolate households and winter nears, a Native-led Episcopal ministry is organizing aid for families across the Four Corners.
By EEW Magazine Online Editors
Floodwater surrounds a home along the San Juan River in Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, Oct. 25, 2026. (Mitch Tobin)
Phyllis Yazzie was home with her son in Dennehotso, Arizona, on Oct. 22 when her niece warned her that floodwaters were heading their way. The two tried to drive out on their dirt road, but the water forced them back to the highest point of their land, where they spent the night in their vehicle, NPR reported. “We thought we were safe,” Yazzie said.
In the same community, 92-year-old Lilien Begay lost her home and every identification document she owned.
Severe flooding has disrupted the lives of more than 1,000 Navajo Nation residents, mainly in northwest New Mexico and southeast Utah, Episcopal News Service reported. Late-October rain swelled the Animas, San Juan and La Plata rivers and washed out roads. More storms on Nov. 1 and 2 brought renewed danger, including in Farmington, New Mexico.
That Sunday, Nov. 1, flooding forced road closures in Piñon, Dilkon, Red Mesa, Mexican Springs and Indian Wells, according to the Navajo Times. In Piñon, a washout closed Navajo Route 4 and a crossing known as London Bridge. In Red Mesa, fast-moving water washed out Flat Top Mountain Road. At Nazlini Wash, motorists were reportedly trying to cross flooded areas.
The October floods had already stranded families across the reservation. In Piñon, community members organized their own rescue efforts and delivered food and water to people who could not get out, KJZZ reported. As of Oct. 27, some communities in the Tuba City, Chinle, Dilkon, Crownpoint, Fort Defiance, Kayenta and Shiprock areas still had no water service.
A minivan sits in floodwater outside a home along the San Juan River in Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, Oct. 25, 2026. (Mitch Tobin)
In southeast Utah, Bluff residents living on the river side of town were ordered to evacuate Oct. 25 as the San Juan River rose. The Navajo Nation evacuated the Montezuma Creek and Aneth communities, and shelters opened in Montezuma Creek and Blanding, KSL reported.
Some congregations are responding while their own members recover. At Cajone Mesa Church of God on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, Pastor Lynn Begay said some congregation members have lost road access to their homes entirely. The local water system shut down after a sewer break and contamination, according to WDBJ7. “The big needs right now are clean water, cleaning supplies, and food,” Begay said.
God’s Pit Crew, a faith-based disaster relief ministry based in Danville, Virginia, sent a tractor-trailer of supplies to the church. The load included pallets of bottled water, blankets and buckets filled with food, cleaning supplies, hygiene products and a Bible. Members of the congregation have kept helping their neighbors despite their own hardships, the station reported.
The Episcopal Church in Navajoland, a missionary diocese based in Farmington, is organizing its own response. The diocese serves communities across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah alongside the Navajo Nation. Its standing committee, clergy and other local leaders are coordinating help for affected households, with assistance from Episcopal Relief & Development, the Episcopal Church’s relief and development agency.
“Our partner, the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, brings incredible local strength and leadership as they actively mobilize relief across reservation communities cut off by floodwaters,” said Cristina De La Torre, the agency’s program officer for global disaster response and resilience.
The agency named food, drinking water, shelter and fuel as immediate priorities. It said winter recovery will require sustained support for firewood and extensive home repairs.
In Dennehotso, residents were still digging out two weeks after the October flood, NPR reported.
For the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, the work ahead reaches past the emergency. The diocese said recovery will take time, particularly for families who have flooded and been displaced more than once.
