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CNN Saturday Morning News

Flood Devastates Eastern India

Aired July 21, 2001 - 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.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: And on the subject of heat and humidity, we turn now to some devastating flooding in eastern India right now. Water levels in hard-hit areas began to recede today, but millions of people have been affected by the flooding. Many are still being evacuated today.

And CNN's Satinder Bindra joins us via videophone from eastern India, very close to Bangladesh, where flooding is a common problem there. And Satinder has the latest.

Good morning, Satinder.

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you, Brian.

The latest here is that large parts of Orissa are beginning to resemble a giant lake. Officials tell us some 1 million people are marooned. And Brian, in this area where I am, some 30,000 people have been cut off by surging flood waters.

Now, in the past couple of hours, these people have received some food and some medication from volunteers, volunteers who are devoting their own time. Now, the state government is also doing all it can to help. It's deployed six helicopters. Every morning, these six helicopters are loaded up with food, water, and medication. These supplies are then air-dropped onto marooned villagers. It's quite a sight as hundreds of villagers rush out to receive packages of food which are air-dropped from these helicopters.

Now over the past several days, officials estimate, they've already air-dropped 120 tons of food. Now, this relief operation is likely to continue for the next few days because the weather office is predicting more rain.

Brian, I should add that the people here are suffering. They're suffering a great deal. If you'll recall, just about two years ago, they were hit by a massive cyclone. That cyclone then killed almost 10,000 people, and here officials estimate the death count has already gone up to about 50 as these flood waters continue to be everywhere, at least in the area that I am in -- Brian.

NELSON: Satinder, has the -- have the rains stopped, and how long do you think it takes for the water to recede? BINDRA: Well, Brian, at the moment it's very cloudy. Just about a half-hour ago, we were hit by another shower. Now, what happens is, as this rain falls, the water level in a large reservoir or dam here begins to rise and rise alarmingly. Officials then open the sluice gates of this dam, and all that water comes down in this area where I am. This is very, very flat territory, Brian, so it takes the water a long time to recede.

So it could be several days before people here manage to put their lives back together again. Officials are also worried that with so much water around, there could be the risk now of water-borne diseases like gastroenteritis, malaria perhaps, even cholera -- Brian.

NELSON: All right, thank you, CNN's Satinder Bindra in the state of Orissa in eastern India very close to Bangladesh.

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