The floods that ripped through Tauranga last week bore no respect for the city's dead. Tauranga City Council closed all cemeteries, with the exception of Pyes Pa, last Wednesday for public safety reasons when more than 200 graves subsided due to heavy rain. The council deemed cemeteries a "falling hazard" when watersoaked into loose earth around the graves, causing the ground to collapse, council communications adviser Alison Liddle said. All cemeteries were re-opened again yesterday while contractors continued work to level affected areas. "Signage is up where people need to take care on unstable ground," said Miss Liddle. Sexton Sean Hawke said subsidence occurred naturally when a coffin breaks down. The dirt above the casket can drop by a depth of up to 30 centimetres. Mr Hawke regularly tends to sunken graves as part of his cemetery maintenance work, but said it was unusual for so many graves to sink at once. "There was so much rain it has speeded the process up," he explained. To raise sunken graves back up to ground level, workers have to remove sections of turf with a spade, use a motorised compactor to compress the earth, fill in the hole with sand and pumice and then replace the turf. Once a grave has been treated in this way, it would not need to be disturbed again, said Mr Hawke. He predicted the repair work at Tauranga's cemeteries would take at least two more weeks and possibly longer, depending on the weather. Workers have already completed restoration work at the Methodist cemetery on 17th Avenue, are currently working at the Presbyterian cemetery on 18th Avenue and will then move on to the Catholic and Anglican cemeteries. Tauranga funeral directors said they were not disrupted by the cemetery closures. The funeral homes that had held services during the flood period said burials had taken place at Pyes Pa cemetery, which had remained open. Phil Rutland of Elliotts Funeral Services Mount Maunganui said having access to graves of loved ones was an important part of the grieving process. "Especially up to a year after the funeral," said Mr Rutland. "Many people visit at least once a month to take flowers." Miss Liddle advised visitors to walk with caution at cemeteries where the ground was still uneven. She said there was no risk of contamination or disease in cemeteries following the flood.
