A Houston-area man has filed a lawsuit after his wife's casket was unearthed and carried away by recent floodwaters and deposited along a trail where it was discovered by people on a morning walk.

Richard Lee, of Richmond, says in his lawsuit that his late wife's casket floated away due to "improper burial," causing him "post-traumatic-stress disorder, nausea, shock, grief ... and outraged feelings."

Images of the casket on the trail last week were circulated widely, but it's only the latest example of a recurring problem that cemeteries face during severe weather.

Carolyn Lee's casket, which remained closed, floated from Riceville Cemetery last week after almost 30 centimetres of rain fell in some parts of the Houston area, resulting in flooding that damaged thousands of homes and other structures and forced motorists to abandon at least 2,500 vehicles across Houston.

The rains swelled Keegans Bayou, which consumed the adjacent cemetery that's owned by Riceville Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where the Lees worshipped for decades before her death in 2007 from lung disease. She was 59.