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American Morning

Earthquake Relief

Aired December 30, 2003 - 07:16   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Iran today, officials are estimating the death toll from last week's earthquake could reach 50,000 -- 28,000 already confirmed dead in and near the devastated town of Bam. There are mass graves. Up to 100,000 could be homeless. Just devastating numbers and staggering even to try and think about it.
Thousands of relief workers are on the scene, including Dr. Susan Briggs of Massachusetts General Hospital leading the U.S. emergency medical team in Bam in southeastern Iran.

And, Doctor, by way of videophone, there is a bit of a delay in this signal.

When you first arrived, give us a sense of what you're seeing in the town of Bam that you've seen so far.

DR. SUSAN BRIGGS, LEADING U.S. EMERGENCY MEDICAL TEAM IN IRAN: Well, there is overwhelming devastation, and I think the Iranian field people have done an incredible job with very limited supplies. This is a difficult area to get to.

There are many, many people that are homeless. It's very clear why the fatality rate is so high, because the bricks just came tumbling down in the mud houses. And I think very clearly, there has been a massive, massive relief effort in terms of the search and rescue, but there are many, many medical need still pending.

HEMMER: Yes, as you look around, though, and you canvass the environment, is there anything that's still standing?

BRIGGS: There are things that are standing. The main epicenter is a little beyond where we are right now. But I think that the damage, certainly because of the type of building material used in this part of the country, it was extensive. And what is tragic is to see entire families wiped out. And this is very much the same kind of thing we saw in Armenia, and that's what makes it so difficult for a society to cope and to also meet many of their needs.

HEMMER: How is that U.S. aid being treated and received?

BRIGGS: I think they've been absolutely incredibly gracious, and have treated us as a guest in the country. When we arrived on a U.S. Air Force plane, they came running out to the plane and just begging us to come and start treating patients. And I think that they have, from every indication I have seen at every level, been overjoyed that we were able to join in this massive relief effort. And I think the fact that politics has not interfered certainly to me as a physician is wonderful.

HEMMER: Doctor, you fly halfway around the world. How can you help right now?

BRIGGS: Well, I think we can help in many ways. What we bring right now is an incredible amount of expertise medically. We have trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, pediatricians, obstetrical and gynecology people, and paramedics.

Whenever you have a disaster of this magnitude -- and both hospitals are totally destroyed and there is no existing medical care here, other than relief groups such as ours and one from the Iranian society. We're going to try to meet many of the needs that have not been met for the last week, but also to try to deal with many of the injuries that were not life-threatening, but are still going to be very important in terms of preventing ultimate disease and deaths.

HEMMER: Yes, finally, Doctor, if you could here, getting those reports from yesterday about this young girl who was found alive cradled in her mother's arms, her mother obviously dead as a result of this quake -- other stories here and there about survivors. How big is that feeling? How large is that feeling that others can be still found alive today?

BRIGGS: Oh, I think it's certainly very real among the people, despite the fact that there have been no recent survivors. You can see people still going through the rubble, and I think there are people sitting outside of many destroyed houses waiting just for any hope that one of their loved ones will be found.

HEMMER: Dr. Briggs, thank you -- Susan Briggs out of Massachusetts now on the scene in Bam, Iran.

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 December 30, 2003 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Iran today, officials are estimating the death toll from last week's earthquake could reach 50,000 -- 28,000 already confirmed dead in and near the devastated town of Bam. There are mass graves. Up to 100,000 could be homeless. Just devastating numbers and staggering even to try and think about it.
Thousands of relief workers are on the scene, including Dr. Susan Briggs of Massachusetts General Hospital leading the U.S. emergency medical team in Bam in southeastern Iran.

And, Doctor, by way of videophone, there is a bit of a delay in this signal.

When you first arrived, give us a sense of what you're seeing in the town of Bam that you've seen so far.

DR. SUSAN BRIGGS, LEADING U.S. EMERGENCY MEDICAL TEAM IN IRAN: Well, there is overwhelming devastation, and I think the Iranian field people have done an incredible job with very limited supplies. This is a difficult area to get to.

There are many, many people that are homeless. It's very clear why the fatality rate is so high, because the bricks just came tumbling down in the mud houses. And I think very clearly, there has been a massive, massive relief effort in terms of the search and rescue, but there are many, many medical need still pending.

HEMMER: Yes, as you look around, though, and you canvass the environment, is there anything that's still standing?

BRIGGS: There are things that are standing. The main epicenter is a little beyond where we are right now. But I think that the damage, certainly because of the type of building material used in this part of the country, it was extensive. And what is tragic is to see entire families wiped out. And this is very much the same kind of thing we saw in Armenia, and that's what makes it so difficult for a society to cope and to also meet many of their needs.

HEMMER: How is that U.S. aid being treated and received?

BRIGGS: I think they've been absolutely incredibly gracious, and have treated us as a guest in the country. When we arrived on a U.S. Air Force plane, they came running out to the plane and just begging us to come and start treating patients. And I think that they have, from every indication I have seen at every level, been overjoyed that we were able to join in this massive relief effort. And I think the fact that politics has not interfered certainly to me as a physician is wonderful.

HEMMER: Doctor, you fly halfway around the world. How can you help right now?

BRIGGS: Well, I think we can help in many ways. What we bring right now is an incredible amount of expertise medically. We have trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, pediatricians, obstetrical and gynecology people, and paramedics.

Whenever you have a disaster of this magnitude -- and both hospitals are totally destroyed and there is no existing medical care here, other than relief groups such as ours and one from the Iranian society. We're going to try to meet many of the needs that have not been met for the last week, but also to try to deal with many of the injuries that were not life-threatening, but are still going to be very important in terms of preventing ultimate disease and deaths.

HEMMER: Yes, finally, Doctor, if you could here, getting those reports from yesterday about this young girl who was found alive cradled in her mother's arms, her mother obviously dead as a result of this quake -- other stories here and there about survivors. How big is that feeling? How large is that feeling that others can be still found alive today?

BRIGGS: Oh, I think it's certainly very real among the people, despite the fact that there have been no recent survivors. You can see people still going through the rubble, and I think there are people sitting outside of many destroyed houses waiting just for any hope that one of their loved ones will be found.

HEMMER: Dr. Briggs, thank you -- Susan Briggs out of Massachusetts now on the scene in Bam, Iran.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.