Flash Flood in McKinley County, New Mexico

A man and his young son drowned when their vehicle was swept down stream trying to cross a flooded arroyo near Church Rock. Officials reported other people escaping without injuries as their vehicles also became trapped at flooded road crossings across west central and northwest McKinley County. A clogged drainage ditch also overflowed onto Interstate 40 near Gallup with mud and debris causing a closure of the westbound lanes. Several people escaped without injury when a mobile home located next to an arroyo tipped as storm water undercut the sandy bank of the arroyo. In general, storms yielded only about one half inch to three quarters inch of rain in about 30 minutes, but it was enough to fill numerous small arroyos and ditches with shallow and fast moving water.