Cities of the Dead

Why is the dead buried above ground in the city of New Orleans?

Because of this.

Flooding.

The early settlers to New Orleans buried their dead under the ground as it was their custom. What they discovered was they could only bury the coffins a few feet down before hitting water as the city was built upon a swamp and is below sea level. When the area flooded, the air tight coffins would pop up from under the ground and float down the street.

In an area where summer meant yellow fever and yellow fever meant increased death rates, burial under the ground became a nightmare. The settlers tried different methods to keep the coffins in the ground. They placed large stones on top of the coffins. They inserted air holes in the coffins. It did not work. When the area flooded, the coffins rose from beneath the earth.

The citizens in New Orleans did not know what to do. You cannot have coffins rising from the ground everytime there was a flood.

So they decided to bury the dead above ground in crypts and mausoleums. Then, they made a two year rule because how many family members can one inter in an above ground crypt? When a family member died, they were interred in a crypt that was family owned or rented. After two years, the body was removed from the coffin and the remains placed in a bag and stored either on the inside of the crypt or in the back. Each time this process occurred, the old remains would be swept back and the new coffin interred. If someone died within the two year period, the coffin was placed in a vault for storage until the remains in the crypt were removed from its coffin and bagged. Thus New Orleans Cemeteries became known as The City of the Dead.