Three people are dead after flooding on the Navajo Nation near Newcomb, New Mexico, with rescue operations underway near Chinle and Many Farms.
A social media post by the Navajo Police Department says officers responded to reports of people being washed away near Newcomb shortly after midnight Wednesday.
They say two adults and a juvenile drowned and were pronounced dead, and that the incident remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Navajo communities of Chinle and Many Farms also flooded, though no deaths were immediately reported.
Chinle residents along Highway 191 between mileposts 451 to 454 and other low terrain flood zones are encouraged to evacuate, according to another post by Shawna Ann Claw, a Navajo Nation council delegate from Chinle.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren signed an emergency declaration in response to the flooding.
He said in his own Facebook post on Tuesday that officials are coordinating three rescue operations in the area, though water levels were beginning to recede Tuesday night.
The Chinle chapter house is being evaluated as a potential emergency shelter location, he added, since the Many Farms facility is currently unavailable.
“There are no words that can ease the pain of losing a loved one so suddenly, and our hearts are especially heavy knowing that three lives were lost,” wrote Nygren.
Emergency response officials on the Navajo Nation did not immediately return a request for comment on the status of evacuation efforts.
This is a breaking news story and may be updated.
