NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Russia, the flooded Lena River is swallowing homes. Russian warplanes have been bombing an ice jam in a desperate attempt to unclog the river. We get more now from CNN's Steve Harrigan.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ice is coming, along with record water levels moving north on Siberia's Lena River, sweeping away wooden houses and flooding everything in its path.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My dear relatives: I'm alive and healthy, and I haven't been carried away by water.</s>HARRIGAN: At least two people have been killed so far, and more than 40,000 evacuated. The town of Lensk was one of the hardest hit by this year's spring thaw. Some have lost everything. Emergency food and drinking water has to be delivered by boat. With electricity and phone lines still not working in much of the region, the cooking is done outdoors, on roofs or high ground. As the flood recedes, leaving ice boulders in its wake, there's talk of rebuilding some towns further away from the river, and frantic preparation downstream around the city of Yakutsk, for what the next few days may bring. Those preparations include 250 kilogram demolition bombs, launched from SU-24 warplanes, to break up ice floes; three-meter-high dams reinforced with sand around the clock; and a ban on vodka sales, to keep sober heads in what may be an upcoming battle to stay dry. Steve Harrigan, CNN, Moscow.
Russia's Lena River Floods, Inflicts Severe Damage to Region