Louisiana begins cleanup as search continues
ST. AMANT, La. — Louisiana continues to dig itself out from devastating floods, with search parties going door to door looking for survivors or bodies trapped by flooding so powerful in some cases it disturbed the dead and sent caskets floating from cemeteries.
At least 13 people died in the flooding that swept through parts of southern Louisiana after torrential rains lashed the region. The waters have slowly receded in many areas, but the hard work of rebuilding lives is just ramping up, with people cleaning out their homes while others find a place to stay.
In a uniquely Louisiana problem, some families are also trying to rebury relatives whose caskets were unearthed by the floods.
At the Plainview Cemetery in Denham Springs, relatives gathered to see what had become of their plots, only to find a chaotic mess with some vaults overturned and in other cases only empty outlines of graves remaining.
“This is bad, it’s just bad,” said Ravonte Thomas, whose relative’s casket was missing. “You can’t even come to see people. You don’t know where they’re at.”
In southern Louisiana, the water table is so high that people generally cannot be buried 6 feet under. Caskets are often encased in vaults that are partially above ground, said Zeb Johnson, with the Calcasieu Parish coroner’s office, who has extensive experience with recovering caskets scattered by flooding or hurricanes.
At least 15 cemeteries across seven parishes have had disruptions, the Louisiana Department of Health reported, although they don’t have an estimate of how many graves, tombs, and vaults have been damaged.
The department is reaching out to affected parishes to do assessments. In most cases, the disinterred caskets and vaults are within the territory of the cemetery, although one casket ended up in a nearby backyard.
In Livingston Parish, John Marston from the coroner’s office said they’ve received reports of about 30 caskets unearthed, and anticipate more when waters recede off the southern part of the parish.
“As the water table gets high and the ground gets saturated, it’s just like a boat,” he said. “It’s going to float.”
In other areas the search for the living goes on.
Search teams going house to house are going out at least through the weekend, said Brant L. Thompson from the State Fire Marshal’s Office.