East Los Angeles

Heavy Rainfall Causes Over a Dozen Graves to Sink Into Ground

"The ground could open up beneath us."

More than a dozen graves are sinking into the ground at an East Los Angeles cemetery after severe rainfall hit the region over the weekend.

Los Angeles historians Kim Cooper and her husband Richard Schave noticed the unsettled graves while visiting Home of Peace Memorial Park in East LA. 

"It was pretty shocking. There were sections of graves that had completely caved in," Cooper told NBC4. 

The couple said they could feel the water had "really saturated" the lawn. They left because they felt it wasn't safe to be walking there. 

An aerial view of the 116-year-old cemetery showed at least a dozen damaged graves. 

An employee of the cemetery, who asked not to be identified, said water retention issues are to blame and that's not unusual for this to happen during heavy rainstorms. 

He added that workers are tending to the graves damaged by the severe storm immediately.

Cooper and Schave, who run Esotouric Bus Adventures, are confident that the cemetery will clean up the damage. 

"I know they're going to get on it because they do very good work here," Schave said. 

Home of Peace Memorial Park is the final resting place for many who hold a special place in Hollywood history including founder of Universal Pictures Carl Laemmle, co-founder of MGM studios Louis B. Mayer and Shemp and Curly of The Three Stooges.

Contact Us