Louisiana is a notoriously low-lying area with a plethora of above ground graves. But a combination of hurricanes and tropical storms in recent years have ruined many historical graves and caused others to even float out to sea!
Natural disasters such as Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Lee and Isaac have caused massive damage to at least 2 dozen cemeteries along the southeastern coast of Louisiana. At least 11 cemeteries in Jefferson Parish have repeatedly flooded since Hurricane Katrina, while more than a dozen others have fallen in Lafourche, Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes. Sadly, officials concur that not much can be done to save the cemeteries or the sinking communities that surround them.
The low-lying areas have caused some cemeteries to turn to marsh, which has been devastating to above and below ground graves. Some towns have tried to build up burial sites by anchoring above-ground caskets to concrete slabs in hopes of preventing them from floating off. “When I was a kid, you didn’t see graves floating away and going under water,” said Timothy Kerner, the local mayor of Jean Lafitte, where schools, restaurants and homes have flooded at least 4 times in the past 7 years.
Kerner said all 11 cemeteries in his area were under water during Hurricane Isaac. Despite many caskets being anchored to concrete slabs, dozens still floated away, making them difficult to identify.
