Some headstones submerged by flooding at cemetery in Superior Township
SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - Visitors of a local cemetery are upset with the condition of their loved ones' headstones - some are completely under water because of flooding.
YuLonda Eckel just wanted to visit her father’s resting place at United Memorial Gardens in Superior Township on Sunday — all she saw was water.
"I had no words. I just sat in my car quietly," said Eckel. "I had no words."
Her father, Johnny Swanson Jr, was a veteran who served in Vietnam and a pastor later in life.
"I couldn’t believe what I was seeing," she said.
When she arrived at her father’s grave, she was disheartened to see it was underwater. Now she’s worried about this flooding and hopes it can be taken care of.
"I started to walk towards where my dad’s plot was and I had on some waterproof boots," she said. "I noticed when I was walking, I was kicking up mud and the water was getting deeper, so I stopped and turned around and came back."
Video still courtesy of YuLonda Eckel
Eckel says she felt sorry for her father and for others whose loved ones were beneath the water. Now, with more snow, that water has turned to a slushy mess.
"What if someone older than me comes out here and they want to see their loved ones and they can’t get to them?" she said.
Eckel says she called the cemetery.
"And the response was ‘We’ve had several days of rain, this is Michigan, and we’ve had some snow,’" she said. "And so I asked, is there some kind of water pumping system or something that can take the water away from the grass? I was told no, there’s nothing we can do about it."
FOX 2 called the cemetery as well — they said they were aware of the problem and pointed out it is only certain sections of the cemetery that are flooded, not the whole thing. And they said they will work to fix the issue. They confirmed they do have pumps.
Eckel is hoping the problem is corrected soon — and proactive measures are taken in the future.
"If they don’t have anything in place they should consider putting something in place for situations like this," she said.
