GDB not showing local-to-block variables ?

[Iztok Kobal]

System: i686, SuSE 8.1, kernel 2.4.19, gcc-3.2, gdb-5.2.1

code is configured to use exceptions and compiled using the 
--enable-debug. When invoking the gdb, it does not show the variables 
which are local to the block within some function:

void function (some argument) {
  try {
         some variable;     // which is not displayed by the debugger
         .....
         ......
  }
  catch (...) {
      ....
  }
}

When trying to display this variable as it was the watch variable, the 
debugger reports that there is no such symbol in the current stack frame.

Is this the debugger problem or there is an option to be used at compile 
time to get this info ?