[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               EXPRESSING SYMPATHY TO CITIZENS OF EUROPE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL H. MICHAUD

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 24, 2003

  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the victims of the 
heat wave that gripped Europe through the month of August. Record-
setting temperatures across the continent resulted in crop-ravaging 
drought, devastating forest fires and the deaths of thousands.
  Cities across Europe from London to Paris to Rome experienced 
temperatures never before seen in recorded history. A lack of rainfall 
and soaring heat left crops withered and unusable. The economic costs 
of such losses have been measured in the billions. Forest fires burned 
thousands of acres, left hundreds homeless and several dead. Sadly, 
thousands lost their lives as a result of dehydration, fever and other 
heat-related illness. In France alone, more than ten thousand people 
lost their lives.
  Citizens of Europe have not hesitated to bow their heads and join us 
in grief during times of tragedy, especially to remember the terrible 
events of September 11, 2001. Let us take a moment to express our 
sympathies and share in the grief of the family and friends of those 
who succumbed during Europe's recent human tragedy.

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