We asked them to leave yesterday. I had some of the villages checked again today, because some people didn't want to leave their homes.

The ground has really been soaked because of the rain. The trees were sliding down upright with the mud.

The problem is that we cannot bring in heavy equipment because of the mud.

I have a glimmer of hope, based on the rule of thumb: Within 24 hours, you can still find survivors. After that, you move on to the recovery phase.

The ground has really been soaked.

You don't see any houses any more. I saw only four rooftops that were covered by water; everything else was covered by mud.

We'll resume first hour in the morning tomorrow [Saturday].

They are being buried as we speak, 50 of them, all in the one grave.

This is one of the last chances we have. The reports of the text messages, you'd like to believe them and hope that they are true because it's the only inspiration that keeps us going.