WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — After flooding ripped through communities in San Juan County and the Four Corners region, a Utah nonprofit is gathering supplies and monetary donations to help families impacted by the rising water.
Navajo Strong is collecting donations in Northern Utah before taking supplies south to communities recovering from the flooding.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad down there,” said Leah Swenson, program director for Navajo Strong.
Communities from Bluff to Aneth have dealt with flooding, road closures, and evacuations.
“I mean, especially when they’re closing roads and when they’re doing evacuations,” Swenson said. “There were people who had to just get up and leave and take what they could.”
For Swenson, the flooding has also hit close to home. She said she has family in the Tuba City, Arizona area and reached out to make sure they were safe.
“I even had to check on them and ask, ‘Are you guys, ok? Do you need anything?’" Swenson said. “She shared a video of the flooding in her front yard, and it was pretty much up to her knees.”
As affected communities continue cleaning up, Navajo Strong is gathering donations to bring to San Juan County.
The organization is looking for a variety of essential supplies, including:
- Water
- Toiletries
- Diapers
- Blankets
- Warm clothing
- Sanitizer wipes
- Baby wipes
- Food items
- Sandbags
- Feminine hygiene products
“We are trying to take as many items as we can for this drive,” Swenson said. “If we get more donations, we’re going to maybe have a driver go down as well.”
Donations can be dropped off at Les Schwab in West Valley City at 3845 Constitution Blvd.
The organization is also accepting monetary donations through Venmo at @NavajoStrong-1.
Anyone looking for additional information about donating can contact Swenson at leah@navajostrong.org.
Lee Haswood, who works with Navajo Strong, is among those preparing to make the trip to deliver supplies.
“We go down about eight times a year,” Haswood said. “We’re going to do probably two more trips after this one here with supplies. I’m so happy to do it because I’m helping my people.”
Haswood said he hopes the donations can provide some relief for people forced from their homes.
“They’ve had to move a lot of the people out of their homes because of the flooding,” he said. “I’m hoping what I’m doing is going to help.”
With more rain in the forecast over the weekend, Navajo Strong hopes the donated supplies can help these communities as they recover and prepare for additional storms.