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CNN Live Today

Eastern German City of Dresden Under Siege by Floodwaters

Aired August 16, 2002 - 12:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Heavily damaged by bombing during World War II, the eastern German city of Dresden is again under siege, this time by fast-flowing floodwaters. Thousands of people have been evacuated, and efforts to save the city's historic district have been abandoned.
CNN's Gaven Morris is on the scene -- Gaven.

GAVEN MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this is an incredible story, the story of Dresden. As you say, much of the center of the city, in fact, 80 percent of the entire city fairly leveled after -- during World War II, and for a long time, then the rebuilding delayed by the communist regime that was in power here.

Now just in the last few years, they have been getting back on their feet, rebuilding many of the historic buildings in the center of town, and now this, a flood pique like they have never seen before here in Dresden; 9.6 meters, they are now saying, is the new expected peak, and that is due some time possibly in the last 12 to 18 hours. I will just get you to glance over my shoulder.

You can see across the river there in the background, the Sempra (ph) opera house. Now that is one of the most famous buildings in the center of Dresden, and it is now pretty much surrounded by water. The entire theater plaza in front of that where we were yesterday is now underwater, and water is heading through the old town towards, as I say, many of those old historic buildings that they've tried so hard to restore in the last several years -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now what about the foundation of many of these buildings, that sits -- the foundation sits on a pretty good layer of sand. That certainly has to be jeopardized with here all the standing water?

MORRIS: Well, exactly, nobody quite knows what to expect with that. As I say, unprecedented levels, so who knows what damage will be done. But luckily, most of these buildings are very, very substantial things. They are 200, 300, 400-years-old some of them, and the hope is that because they're actually so old and so substantially built, that may be the one thing that protects them.

There are some newer buildings here in the town, some of the ones even built in the last 50 years, since the rebuilding of the city, and they are probably more at risk, because these days, we just don't build them like we used to -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Gaven Morris, thank you very much, from Dresden, Germany.

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