BIRD SPRINGS, Arizona — Federal emergency funds are heading for the Navajo Nation, but they are not coming fast enough for the residents of the Bird Springs chapter and the Chinle community.

Severe winter storms that hit Navajo and Hopi communities earlier this year brought heavy snowfall, flooding and severe damage to roads. Birdsprings and Chinle are just two of her big influences communities.

Flooding began in the Bird Springs area in mid-March, and when the levee broke on April 21, the Chinle residents along the Chinle Wash also began to flood.

Since the flood began, resources have been deployed from the Navajo Nation, including the Navajo Transportation Authority, Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority, IHS, Apache County, Rubicon, American Red Cross, Navajo Institute of Technology, Chinle Branch, and Bird Spring Branch. Navajo Nation President’s Office.

The January 19 state of emergency declaration by the Navajo Nation Emergency Management Board remains in effect to address the continued need for resources, and on April 11, President Joe Biden announced that the Navajo Nation’s disaster approved the declaration and ordered federal assistance. Complements tribal efforts.

The President and Vice President’s Navajo Nation Office did not respond to requests for comment on how the funds would be used. Expenses or equipment to assist residents.

Flooding this year has been extreme in the Bird Springs community, located north of Winslow and east of Loop in Navajo Nation.

“Our house is flooded and the house behind us is flooded,” said Bird Springs resident Brittany Taylor. “The water is running down and creating islands.

The water comes from a basin east of the community, according to Mitzi Begay, secretary and treasurer of the Bird Springs chapter.

“Within a few days our area was completely flooded and no one was prepared,” she said.

The Navajo Nation has 16,317 miles of roads, according to data from the 2021 Navajo Nation Long-Distance Transportation Plan. Of those miles, only 14%, or 2,284, are paved, leaving the remaining 14,032 miles to swamp in the spring and barren washboard in the summer.

There are approximately 100 homes in the Bird Springs area, located in the Navajo Southwest. Chapter Land Base is divided by the Northwest-flowing Little Colorado River.

According to Begay, there are about 28 homes along State Route 99, which are regularly affected by flooding.

“Some people live on higher ground, sure, but when the Little Colorado River floods, there’s no way out,” she said. “The weather is still cold, so our staff are busy carrying hay and firewood.”

According to Begay, about 95% of Birdsprings residents have no plumbing or electricity in their rooms.

“So firewood is a big thing,” she said. “Sometimes in floods they lose firewood and livestock get stuck in one place with her. So we are trying to get hay, fodder and water, which is very difficult.”

Begay said about 10 floods hit the Bird Springs area when the monsoon started last summer.

“The only difference was that after the floods, probably within three to five days, the water receded and the roads were able to be repaired and the families were able to go home,” she said. I was. “This time, it’s been almost two months.”

Begay said maintenance crews from the Navajo Department of Transportation and the Department of Indian Affairs have returned to the area after previously setbacks due to the area’s constant flooding.

“They stopped completely at one point because the water washes the roads again. It’s just frustrating because the water is going directly to the houses that are in the area,” she said.

One of the flooding issues at Bird Springs is the bridges, which exacerbate flooding in the area.

“Bird Springs is all in a flood zone,” says Begay. “When the bridge was first built it was fine and didn’t look as low as it does now. But like any river, sediment flows, settles there and hits the bottom of the bridge.”

Beghey said debris was flowing down the bridge and creating a dam.

“Now it happens year after year, no matter how clean NDOTs and BIAs get their bridges,” says Begay. “And now the water finds a new way. It doesn’t even go directly to where it should go from the Little Colorado River to the Lupe to the Grand Falls. Now it finds a way to dwell.”

Begay said the Army Corps of Engineers has the funds to conduct an evaluation of the bridge but is awaiting instructions from the Navajo. Begay said he is looking at embankments and embankments to divert the river.

“That bridge is a big problem,” she said. “There are refrigerators, tires, dead animals, giant logs. Even all this trash, ice chests, helium tanks and toilet bowls are just blocking the bridge,” she said.

Navajo Nation is trusted for the Navajo people. In the Navajo Nation, land ownership is understood by each family and community. Ownership is passed matrilineally to each family. Homesite leases allocated by the Navajo Tribal Government give ownership to families living in the Navajo Nation.

“In the Navajo Nation, everything depends on leasing the homesite,” she said. “Some families do not allow other families to obtain leases on their homesites, which is a problem when seeking assistance from the Navajo government.”

Bigey said living in the Bird Springs area can be a challenge, but generations of families have lived there, so the community has ties to the area.

“It’s where my great-grandparents live, so I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “That’s where our grazing permits and homesite leases are.”

Bigey said when the flooding began, the Bird Springs chapter had to purchase boats to reach some of the residents in the area.

“The water was just running down the road, but it’s actually very strong and you can lose your footing,” she said. “I know of a few homes that had water and mud inside and now the floors and walls are damaged and mold is starting to creep into the drywall. You have to move off the floor and lower the pallet so it doesn’t get wet, and many people don’t have trucks or vehicles to move their property from their homes.”

Ms Begay said she was also concerned about drinking water in her community.

“It got so bad last year that I contacted Winslow Indian Health Care and the EPA came out to test the water in the river,” she said. But when I entered the house, there was a peculiar smell.”

Begay said he appreciates the immediate support from Coconino and Navajo Counties, Navajo Emergency Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, and others.

“Many of our residents have health problems, and some have diabetes and need to refrigerate their medicines,” she said. problems will occur.”