With Louisiana’s coastal parishes so close to sea level, most burials are done above ground. The storm surges from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disinterred approximately 1,300 remains. FEMA is working with state and local officials to recover and identify disinterred remains.

FEMA’s Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams are locating and recovering remains displaced by floodwaters. DMORT estimates 90 percent of disinterred remains have been recovered.

Once remains have been located, DMORT gathers information used to identify the remains. Once DMORT recovers a disinterred casket, vault or human remains, they transport it to the parish coroner.  There, an initial attempt at identification is made. If identification cannot be made there, the parish coroner will decide whether to transfer them to the Victim Identification Center in Carville.

At the Victim Identification Center, DMORT conducts an examination of the remains. DMORT uses modern forensic techniques up to but not including DNA testing in efforts to identify remains. They cross reference the information gathered during their examination with several databases to make identification. DMORT will then make a recommendation to the state medical examiner, who authorizes the identification of the remains. DMORT may then re-casket the remains.