KYKOTSMOVI — Hopi leaders declared a state of emergency Thursday after days of heavy rain and severe storms caused flooding in communities across the reservation, KNAU reported.
Officials said property was damaged in Lower and Upper Moenkopi, Hotevilla, Bacavi, Old Oraibi, Kykotsmovi, Shungopavi, Mishongnovi, Sipaulovi, Walpi, Sichomovi, Tewa, Keams Canyon, Yu-Weh-Loo Pahki and the Hopi Partitioned Lands.
Coconino County delivered 20,000 sandbags to Lower Moenkopi within hours of a request from village officials worried about Moenkopi Wash, a tributary of the Little Colorado River. A U.S. Geological Survey and National Weather Service gauge on the wash hit 33.92 feet Thursday, about 4.9 feet above the 29-foot major flood stage. Water starts reaching homes and crops in Lower Moenkopi at 27 feet, according to the weather service.
Flash floods have washed out roads and damaged bridges, homes and utilities, and rock slides have created additional hazards that officials say could disrupt travel, communications and critical services.
The emergency declaration directs tribal medical, law enforcement and transportation officials and other departments to coordinate the response. The flooding follows rescues in Dennehotso on the neighboring Navajo Nation earlier this week.
Sources: KNAU. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Andreas F. Borchert / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
