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CNN Live Today
Death Toll From Heat Wave in France Could be as High as 5,000
Aired August 18, 2003 - 11:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands dead and an ousted official -- the heat and humidity is taking a tremendous toll in France. Some estimates now say that almost 5,000 people may be dead because of the unusually hot weather there. The entire situation proved to be too hot to handle for one of France's top health officials today. He resigned and did so amid mounting criticism.
Let's get the latest now from Chris Burns, who joins us live from a rather sunny and still hot Paris.
Hello -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, it's not too hot. Things are starting to cool down, but definitely the political heat is very, very hot. And that is one reason why the surgeon general here in this country resigned today, as the government finally did admit that there could be as many as 5,000 people dead in that heat wave that ended last week -- 10 days of desert heat, 100-degree plus temperatures in a country that is ill-equipped and ill-prepared for that kind of heat.
Now, we saw some pretty heartbreaking and tragic images today, as we traveled around Paris. The morgues are just overflowing. There are some 10 refrigerated tents around France, trying to count and take care of some of these bodies that the morgues just can't deal with.
Also, there are grave diggers busy digging graves ahead of time. They just can't keep up with the backlog.
There is one official who says now that there could be as many -- a funeral official who says there could be as many as 7,000 dead when all is counted and accounted for. And he says it could take at least two more weeks to make up for the backlog of the bodies that have to be buried.
We also went to a retirement home here in Paris, where we stood in the cafeteria where the people were eating, and that cafeteria was empty during those hot days. They couldn't even go down there. They had to stay up in their rooms. They were too weak, too hot to go down to eat. And that is one reason why many of them died. There were eight of them who died in that retirement home. Many people very bitter.
I spoke to one woman who said we just felt so incredibly helpless.
There was one woman who is a co-manager at the retirement home who declined to speak before the camera, but said, look the government announced these emergency measures a week -- a full week into this health crisis, and that was much too little too late.
So, a resignation; perhaps more coming up. There are calls for the health minister himself to resign. But so far, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is standing by his health minister, saying, look, we have to fix it, enough of polemics. We need solidarity right now -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right. Thanks, Chris -- Chris Burns reporting live for us from Paris. Please, be careful yourself over there and continue to hydrate.
BURNS: Thank you.
HARRIS: That's important.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
5,000>
Aired August 18, 2003 - 11:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands dead and an ousted official -- the heat and humidity is taking a tremendous toll in France. Some estimates now say that almost 5,000 people may be dead because of the unusually hot weather there. The entire situation proved to be too hot to handle for one of France's top health officials today. He resigned and did so amid mounting criticism.
Let's get the latest now from Chris Burns, who joins us live from a rather sunny and still hot Paris.
Hello -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, it's not too hot. Things are starting to cool down, but definitely the political heat is very, very hot. And that is one reason why the surgeon general here in this country resigned today, as the government finally did admit that there could be as many as 5,000 people dead in that heat wave that ended last week -- 10 days of desert heat, 100-degree plus temperatures in a country that is ill-equipped and ill-prepared for that kind of heat.
Now, we saw some pretty heartbreaking and tragic images today, as we traveled around Paris. The morgues are just overflowing. There are some 10 refrigerated tents around France, trying to count and take care of some of these bodies that the morgues just can't deal with.
Also, there are grave diggers busy digging graves ahead of time. They just can't keep up with the backlog.
There is one official who says now that there could be as many -- a funeral official who says there could be as many as 7,000 dead when all is counted and accounted for. And he says it could take at least two more weeks to make up for the backlog of the bodies that have to be buried.
We also went to a retirement home here in Paris, where we stood in the cafeteria where the people were eating, and that cafeteria was empty during those hot days. They couldn't even go down there. They had to stay up in their rooms. They were too weak, too hot to go down to eat. And that is one reason why many of them died. There were eight of them who died in that retirement home. Many people very bitter.
I spoke to one woman who said we just felt so incredibly helpless.
There was one woman who is a co-manager at the retirement home who declined to speak before the camera, but said, look the government announced these emergency measures a week -- a full week into this health crisis, and that was much too little too late.
So, a resignation; perhaps more coming up. There are calls for the health minister himself to resign. But so far, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is standing by his health minister, saying, look, we have to fix it, enough of polemics. We need solidarity right now -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right. Thanks, Chris -- Chris Burns reporting live for us from Paris. Please, be careful yourself over there and continue to hydrate.
BURNS: Thank you.
HARRIS: That's important.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
5,000>
