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Gravesites at La Feria cemeteries damaged from recent flooding

Gravesites at La Feria cemeteries damaged from recent flooding
4 days 23 hours 21 minutes ago Sunday, April 06 2025 Apr 6, 2025 April 06, 2025 6:51 PM April 06, 2025 in News - Local
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People in the Rio Grande Valley are still recovering from the heavy flooding less than two weeks ago.

Two cemeteries in La Feria were also impacted, with the flooding damaging the gravesites.

A video taken three days after historic levels of rain fell across the Valley shows headstones and graves at Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery covered in water.

"They pass away, and it's bad enough your loved one passed away and to see them like that underwater," Violeta Martinez said.

Martinez's husband is buried at the cemetery. She says when the water finally receded, she went back to visit and saw holes scattered across the grounds.

"I did see a lot of graves that were sunken in and a lot of headstones that were broken," Martinez said.

Down the road at Heavenly Grace Funeral Home and Memorial Park, Frutoso Villarreal says he was disturbed by what he saw after the rain.

"They looked like sinkholes, the way the dirt just sunk down, and I saw it as disrespectful," Villarreal said.

Villarreal was visiting his brother at Heavenly Grace three days after the flood.

Both cemeteries are owned by Dignity Memorial.

In a statement, the company said "we are confident we have the situation under control and are thankful that the weather conditions are allowing us to continue work on impacted areas."

Channel 5 News went back to the cemeteries on Sunday and saw there was no water on the grounds and graves no longer looked sunken in. 

Watch the video above for the full story.

Read Dignity Memorial's full statement below:

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all who are also struggling with the effects of the storm. Like so much of the community, our properties were affected by the recent flooding. At this time, our grounds remain heavily saturated, but we are confident we have the situation under control and are thankful that weather conditions are allowing us to continue to work on all impacted areas. We are proactively working to resolve any issues. Families who are concerned about their loved ones' gravesites should contact the park directly."

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