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Heat-Related Deaths Soar to Thousands in France
Aired August 14, 2003 - 13:10 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The French government holding an emergency session to figure out how to deal with the impact of the country's worse heat wave. The health minister calls it an epidemic. More than 3,000 people are dead from the sweltering heat. CNN's Paula Hancocks in Paris now to update us once again -- Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. Well that meeting with the French prime minister, the French foreign minister, interior minister, health minister, has finished now. They haven't given any statement as of yet. We're expecting a reaction from them any moment now.
As you say, 3,230 people have died. That is the official figure from the French government in France over the last eight days or so.
Now doctors are saying that is a conservative estimation. They're saying they think the total is far higher and of course they're on the ground, they are in the hospitals, They are treating these people. they said -- one of them said to me this morning that between 1,000 and 2,000 people have died in Paris alone in the suburbs over the last week. So a big discrepancy in numbers there. But that was the first official tally we've had from the government.
Now the government came out with its "white plan" on Wednesday, which it was discussing in this special meeting today, which basically is -- means that it can bring in emergency measures. They're bringing this so-called white plan, when they're terrorist attacks, natural disasters. This is the first time since the Concord crash of 2000 that they have brought this white plan in, showing they know this is a catastrophe.
They're saying they are trying to free up more hospital beds because at the moment, the hospitals are full to capacity. People are on hospital trolleys in the corridors with their families fanning them with newspapers to try and keep them cool.
And doctors are very critical indeed as are quite a few of the public over the government's treating of this situation, saying they haven't done enough to try to remedy things. They left it too late to try and help the situation as well -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Paula, is the government coming out and giving any type of warning to tourists? Should tourists not come to Paris?
HANCOCKS: They haven't actually said anything for tourists at all. In fact, we're still waiting for them to give their official reaction today. They have finished that meeting. And interestingly, the majority of people, to be honest, in Paris at the moment, will be tourists because Parisians often go away in August for their holidays. So there are a lot of tourists around.
But the thing is the temperatures, I should say, are starting to cool. It looks like we are getting towards the end of this heat wave. The temperature hit a high of 90 degrees Fahrenheit today, which is well-below those 105 levels we did see. Although bear in mind, what we're used to seeing here in Paris is 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
So it is still a lot hotter. And doctors are saying there will be a lagging effect of people coming in ill from the heat for the next three or four days -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Paula Hancocks, live from Paris, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 14, 2003 - 13:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The French government holding an emergency session to figure out how to deal with the impact of the country's worse heat wave. The health minister calls it an epidemic. More than 3,000 people are dead from the sweltering heat. CNN's Paula Hancocks in Paris now to update us once again -- Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. Well that meeting with the French prime minister, the French foreign minister, interior minister, health minister, has finished now. They haven't given any statement as of yet. We're expecting a reaction from them any moment now.
As you say, 3,230 people have died. That is the official figure from the French government in France over the last eight days or so.
Now doctors are saying that is a conservative estimation. They're saying they think the total is far higher and of course they're on the ground, they are in the hospitals, They are treating these people. they said -- one of them said to me this morning that between 1,000 and 2,000 people have died in Paris alone in the suburbs over the last week. So a big discrepancy in numbers there. But that was the first official tally we've had from the government.
Now the government came out with its "white plan" on Wednesday, which it was discussing in this special meeting today, which basically is -- means that it can bring in emergency measures. They're bringing this so-called white plan, when they're terrorist attacks, natural disasters. This is the first time since the Concord crash of 2000 that they have brought this white plan in, showing they know this is a catastrophe.
They're saying they are trying to free up more hospital beds because at the moment, the hospitals are full to capacity. People are on hospital trolleys in the corridors with their families fanning them with newspapers to try and keep them cool.
And doctors are very critical indeed as are quite a few of the public over the government's treating of this situation, saying they haven't done enough to try to remedy things. They left it too late to try and help the situation as well -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Paula, is the government coming out and giving any type of warning to tourists? Should tourists not come to Paris?
HANCOCKS: They haven't actually said anything for tourists at all. In fact, we're still waiting for them to give their official reaction today. They have finished that meeting. And interestingly, the majority of people, to be honest, in Paris at the moment, will be tourists because Parisians often go away in August for their holidays. So there are a lot of tourists around.
But the thing is the temperatures, I should say, are starting to cool. It looks like we are getting towards the end of this heat wave. The temperature hit a high of 90 degrees Fahrenheit today, which is well-below those 105 levels we did see. Although bear in mind, what we're used to seeing here in Paris is 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
So it is still a lot hotter. And doctors are saying there will be a lagging effect of people coming in ill from the heat for the next three or four days -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Paula Hancocks, live from Paris, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
