Search-and-rescue leader calls for better coordination in Navajo Nation flood response
WINDOW ROCK
Bernadine Beyale, the founder and executive director of 4 Corners K9 Search and Rescue, said the Navajo Nation needs regular public updates and a central shelter list to help families displaced by San Juan River flooding locate relatives and find assistance.
In a phone interview Monday, Oct. 26, Beyale described how incomplete information complicated her volunteer team’s work after a neighbor reported that an elderly woman was not at home. Without a reliable shelter list, the team could not determine whether she had relocated.
“It was just random posts on Facebook you were seeing, so it’s hard to keep track of who was doing what and where,” she said.
Beyale called for shelter sign-in and sign-out records and a central location for reports of missing people and animals. She said families had contacted her team after struggling to reach police and that she had directed them to their chapter houses.
She compared the information available to Navajo families with San Juan County’s scheduled briefings, where fire officials and relief organizations provided updates on recovery plans.
To read the full article, please see the Oct. 29, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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