The dead rising?

Regardless what your personal views are on climate change, we found this article from the E & E News that explains that there have been a lot more cemeteries that have seen problems from rising water and what E & E determines is climate change in the last couple of years.

The article starts off with this first two sentences.  “The dead rise in Louisiana.  All it takes is some floodwater.”

The article continues with this paragraph.  “People in this low-lying state are typically buried in above ground vaults – the bane of Charlie Hunter, chief investigator for the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office, who has to hunt down the caskets that get washed away during floods.  It’s become a serious part of his job over the past decade.”

This story continues with a description of what is happening in cemeteries across the country.  . . . from melting permafrost issues in Alaska to disintegrating headstones caused by California wildfires.  And, it is a problem because, as described in the article, many people think that cemeteries should be responsible forever even though the fact remains that many do not have an endowment large enough to cover maintenance, much less the costs involved with recovery or improvements.

It is pointed out that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does, at times and in the right circumstances, have assistance money to restore caskets that have been disinterred by declared disasters.  It is also pointed out that several states are now looking into stricter requirements for cemetery operators because of the fairly recent phenomena of involuntary cemetery disinterment.

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