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CNN Sunday Morning

Battle Against Floods in Europe Continues

Aired August 18, 2002 - 11:13   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: European leaders are gathering in Berlin today to discuss the historic flooding that has swept across much of Eastern and Central Europe. As the meeting takes place, the battle against rising floodwaters has yet to let up. CNN's Michael Holmes is in Torgau, Germany, where more than half the population has fled to higher ground. Hi there.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Yes, indeed, that is the case. At Torgau, the water levels have stabilized, they've crested, which you'd think it's good news. However, it's not all good news. Officials here say that the situation is, in their words, "critical."

These sandbags you see behind me are all along the River Elbe, right through this town, this city, historic city. And in the words of one official, the sandbags are turning to butter, and water is starting to seep through, despite the levels retreating even slightly. They've dropped a couple of centimeters, but let's remember, these waters were 21 feet above normal levels. And they're still about that.

The Elbe, meanwhile, continues to consume all before her. We just returned from a town, a village called Dalkin (ph), about five kilometers from here, and got to experience how fast these waters can move firsthand.

We went to confirm reports that a 150-year-old manmade dike had burst in a section. We got there; found it was indeed so. A 200- meter section of the dike had broken apart, and water was just coursing, up to two kilometers inland, across farmland, across roads, and indeed into the village of Dalkin (ph).

We were there reporting for about an hour, and we were told that one route out was clear. However, when we got there, we found that it wasn't clear. That road, too, flooded. And we actually had to beat a hasty retreat through about a foot and a half, two feet of water. Fortunately, got out of there, as did the residents of Dalkin (ph). Some 600 to 700 of them were evacuated. But that town now very much water in the streets.

Now elsewhere, the town of Desau (ph) is also suffering. A dike has broken there. There is water in that town. Further down the river, Magdeburg (ph) and then after that, Brandenburg, preparing for the worst, hoping for the best.

This crisis is far from over. The towns and cities left in the wake of the Elbe River as she has surged through Eastern Germany now starting to only -- just start to count the cost of the damage. It's going to be days before the water levels drop and the real damage is revealed. The last count: $50 billion in damage, that's very preliminary, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And Michael, what kind of international assistance might be provided?

HOLMES: Well, it's interesting. There's a meeting going on actually as we speak now in Berlin. Leaders from various European nations gathering there to meet with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and they're discussing the very issue of financial aid for this stricken region. Germany has a huge budget deficit, and $50 billion cleanup bill is not going to help things. Certainly financial aid is going to be crucial, I think.

As far as rescue workers -- and there's another helicopter going overhead now -- it seems to be very well organized on that level, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much. Michael Holmes, appreciate it.

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