ODESSA, Texas — The death of a family member isn't something people can ever really prepare for. When someone you love dies, you want the final resting place to be peaceful and undisturbed.
The thought of something happening to that hallowed ground doesn't sit well with many. However, something did happen at the Ector County Cemetery. A number of gravesites sank into the ground after a heavy rainfall the night before.
Several families came out in hopes that their loved ones' graves weren't disturbed. Irene Jimenez found her mother's grave to be one of those that sank.
"They texted me that the graves had sunk because of the rain I guess, and I told my daughter let’s go check on my mom’s. And you know hers is kind of sunken too, but I don’t know when they’re gonna get to it you know to fix it," Jimenez said.
However, Jimenez isn't the only the only one who was out there. Mark Luna, who also has family at the cemetery, had to see it for himself.
"We did notice that there was a lot of holes. I mean the gravesite was sinking, and it’s pretty sad because there was a lady out here crying saying that she felt like she was burying her own son again and that really touched my heart," Luna said.
Groundskeepers spent the day filling in the sunken graves. By about 6 p.m., most if not all of the gravesites had been filled back in.
"I was very upset this morning but sitting here since 9 o’clock in the morning, it’s that these guys started doing their jobs, and they are doing a fine job now you know. They’re trying their best to get everything covered, and I appreciate that somebody stepped up and started doing it," Luna said.
Luna and Jimenez are just two of many families asking for more to be done to prevent this from happening in the future.
"All this rain that came in, it actually overflowed in the whole cemetery. I’m assuming it could’ve been prevented. Everybody knows that Muskingum gets flooded. Maybe put a brick wall or enough for the water not to flow into the cemetery," Luna said.
"I hope they start taking better care. They can see it's happening for a reason," Jimenez said.