Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Death Toll Rises in Southern Russia From Widespread Flooding

Aired August 11, 2002 - 09:09   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Southern Russia, the death toll continues to rise from widespread flooding in the Black Sea region. The flooding has left the picturesque beaches littered with debris, fallen trees and ruined vehicles. CNN's Ryan Chilcote is on the telephone with us now with the very latest. Hi there, Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Fredricka. The Black Sea beaches are a prime location spot for sun-seeking Russians, but it's the emergency workers, not vacationers, that are out there today.

You have some video there of some rescue workers bringing in the body of an 8-year-old boy to shore. Just one of the 58 bodies they've recovered since it stopped raining there. Most of the dead, unfortunately, are women and children who drowned after being swept into the Black Sea.

And the search for the dead continues further inland too, where the floodwaters really left total destruction, taking out homes, cars, bridges and roads. Rescue workers are just beginning to make their way through that debris on land.

It started raining so hard on Thursday and Friday that what happened was that the lakes up in the mountains above the coast overflowed and that water came downhill. If you would, take a look at this video. These pictures were taken by an amateur cameraman who actually stuck around as the water came down at him. They just show how quickly and violently that the water was moving downhill.

Emergency officials are being criticized for not warning the people downstream in enough time for them to get out of there and out of the way of that water. The death toll is expected to continue to rise, as the bodies of those who drowned wash ashore and the rescue workers make their way through the debris on land. Back to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ryan, is part of the problem that those government officials were unable to warn people of the threatening flash flooding because they just don't have the equipment or the means in which to convey that kind of message?

CHILCOTE: Exactly. The Russian president was very critical that -- of local officials, of their inability, as he put it, to warn those residents in time.

But a lot of the local residents are saying that those emergency officials don't even have the proper equipment to warn people downstream -- had the proper equipment to warn the people downstream in time. So it's really not clear exactly who's to blame at this point, but a very unfortunate and tragic outcome so far there.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, it's very sad. All right, Ryan Chilcote, thank you very much for joining us on the telephone. So so far, they've recovered 58 bodies, as Ryan just told us.

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