Floodwaters Carve Deep Gashes Along Road Near Monument Valley

Raging runoff carved deep gullies into the red earth along a paved road near Monument Valley, eating away at the asphalt’s edge as heavy rain battered the Navajo Nation on Thursday, October 22.

The Navajo Police Department released two videos showing the damage on Oljato’s main road at about 2:40 p.m. The footage shows trenches several feet deep gouged out right beside the road, with cracked pavement crumbling into them, a tire left lying on the road and rocks and debris scattered along the shoulder. Monument Valley’s sandstone buttes rise in the distance under dark clouds.

“The Main Oljato Road, a paved road in the community, is currently experiencing a severely damaged road,” the department said. “Please use extreme caution when crossing.”

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for parts of Apache, Coconino and Navajo counties, where 1 to 2.5 inches of rain had fallen. San Juan School District moved Monument Valley High School and Tsé’Bii’Ndzisgaii Elementary School to at-home learning because of the rain and flooding. In nearby Dennehotso, Arizona, crews rescued 30 people from flooded homes the same afternoon.