Amid rampant flooding across Louisiana, photos of floating coffins are being shared on social media to highlight the devastation.
The Walker Police Department posted an image of coffins, saying, “A photo of caskets which have floated up in the St. Mark’s Cemetary on Dunn St in Walker as a result of the high water.”
Caskets are seen floating in flood waters near a cemetery on August 17, 2016 in Gonzales, Louisiana. Starting last week Louisiana was overwhelmed with flood water causing at least seven deaths and thousands of homes damaged by the flood waters. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)The Red Cross now estimates that the flood is the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago.
“Thousands of people in Louisiana have lost everything they own and need our help now,” Brad Kieserman, the Red Cross’ vice president of disaster services operations and logistics, told Reuters.
“This disaster is the worst to hit the United States since Superstorm Sandy, and we anticipate it will cost at least $30 million—a number which may grow as we learn more about the scope and magnitude of the devastation,” he said.
Coffins seen floating down the street in Louisiana after severe flooding https://t.co/rCutQmgf8k
— The Independent (@Independent) August 16, 2016
An estimated 40,000 houses have been damaged in the floods and around 86,000 people have applied for federal disaster aid.
“There’s not that much that wasn’t damaged in some of these parishes,” FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told NPR. Water has started to recede in some areas, but the flood’s impact has persisted.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, arrived in Louisiana on Friday to survey the flood damage.
