Lost Coffins Remain Part of Katrina's Legacy

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 30, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

(Newser) – Louisiana is still finding coffins displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years on, the Wall Street Journal reports. Katrina and Rita moved 1,500 bodies from their resting places in the state's swampy south, where floating coffins during floods have long been part of local folklore. Hundreds remain unidentified, and they are still turning up in woods and water.

In one hard-hit parish, Katrina obliterated most of the cemeteries, moving some coffins across the Mississippi River. Couples buried together have been separated, and families fear their loved ones' remains have been lost forever. And as Hurricane Gustav moved closer yesterday, the third anniversary of Katrina, more than 80 of the storm's unclaimed New Orleans victims were laid to rest.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

A jazz funeral procession passes new construction on the way to a memorial ceremony on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber)

A coffin broken free by the crashing waves of Hurricane Katrina remains in the debris of Highway 11 in Buras, Louisiana, on Sept. 19, 2005. (KRT Photos)

A coffin lies exposed in a cemetery damaged by Hurricane Katrina, on Friday, September 2, 2005. (KRT Photos)

A coffin and crypt rest on a levee after floating away from an above-ground graveyard during flooding in Plaquemines Parish Sept. 11, 2005, in Port Sulphur, Louisiana. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

New Orleanians hold a mock funeral for Hurricane Katrina. (ludwingguate)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

My mom's body was missing. I went to visit her and nothing was there, and I thought 'Well Lord, how do I find her?'
- Jeanne St. Ann of Plaquemines, Louisiana

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Gustav Roars to Landfall as Cat. 2

Cat. 2 storm hobbles coast before making landfall

(NEWSER) - Hurricane Gustav was downgraded to Category 2 as it churned toward landfall this morning, causing 9-foot storm surges and widespread power outages to the southeast of New Orleans, CNN reports. A FEMA official told the AP this morning that the eye of the storm is expected to pass west of New Orleans, but its surge will likely breech levees and at least partially flood the city that was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. More»

Brad Pitt Rebuilding 9th Ward Home at a Time

Quirky houses boast top material, solar panels

(NEWSER) - Officials bungled rebuilding New Orleans' Ninth Ward after Katrina, but the devastated district is sprouting colorful, quirky, elevated homes boasting top-notch materials and solar panels thanks to a massive effort spearheaded by Brad Pitt. The actor is highlighted in Spike Lee's new two-part HBO documentary If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise. "I've had a love for this place for a long time," Pitt explains in the film. "Like many, we couldn't believe the ineptitude of the recovery effort." More»

New Orleans Residents Head Home

But blackouts and shortages await returning evacuees

(NEWSER) - All Hurricane Gustav evacuees are being allowed back into New Orleans after Mayor Ray Nagin abandoned a more drawn-out reentry plan, the Washington Post reports. Those returning had trouble locating supplies, and officials warned power outages would add to difficulties. "We'd like to say welcome back, but it's not the way we'd like to do it," one local official said. More»

'Ghost Town' New Orleans Steels for Gustav

3 die in biggest evacuation in Louisiana history

(NEWSER) - The last bus out of New Orleans drove off at 3pm yesterday, leaving behind a virtual ghost town, reports the Houston Chronicle. An estimated 10,000 residents are left in the hurricane-threatened city, now subject to a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew. Some 1.9 million Louisianans have fled Hurricane Gustav—the biggest evacuation in state history. Three hospital patients died during the operation. More»

Post-Katrina, Mardi Gras Revels

Hurricane's shadow still looms, but New Orleans revelers make a comeback

(NEWSER) - Super Tuesday means Mardi Gras in Louisiana today, and the New Orleans bacchanal is slowly finding its feet 3 years after Hurricane Katrina. The predominantly black Zulu parade has as its king this year a 62-year-old native who left the Big Easy for Houston after the levees broke. He's only the second king, after Louis Armstrong, to live outside of New Orleans, the Times-Picayune reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website