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CNN Live Today

Water Level Hit All-Time High in Dresden, Germany

Aired August 16, 2002 - 10:07   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: In Europe now, the death toll is creeping higher along with the water line. More than a hundred people are now confirmed dead in this week's flooding. The latest concerns center on Dresden, Germany. Authorities there have begun evacuating some 30,000 people from an area that is precariously close to the town's treasures.
CNN's Gaven Morris is there and he joins us with a live update.

And, Gaven, is today the day as far as the high water mark?

GAVEN MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you, Martin, that just in the last few minutes the city officials have held a briefing, and for the first time in a few days, there is signs of hope. What they're saying is that some time, maybe in the next 12 hours, a new peak -- and a new peak record for this town, because the old one's already been shattered, might be reached.

Now they're saying that's going to be about 9.5 meters, a good meter above the last record. And if that is met in about 12 hours, what they're saying is it will then take many days for that to drop away. So not over yet. And still rising, maybe -- the water still rising for maybe another 12 hours.

Now I can tell you what we're seeing up and down the banks of this river today, a lot of individual battles for sections of the town. That's basically hand-to-hand combat or hand-to-river combat, if I can put it in that way. People rushing and trying to sandbag at the last minute to try and save buildings.

We visited one hospital earlier this morning. It was the last hospital in Dresden still operating, and they had to abandon it. They had rushed the patients out in quick time. Ambulances, anything else there to ferry them away. And a tragic footnote to those hospital evacuations, the city officials have told us here that at least two people have died as a result of evacuations from hospitals -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right, Gaven Morris reporting to us live from Dresden. We'll stay in touch with you throughout the day to follow events. Thank you.

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