News
Releases
Flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area is visible
from US President Bush's plane, Air Force One, Wednesday, August 31, 2005.
White House photo by Paul Morse.
No. 78/05
September 23, 2005
EU CIVIL PROTECTION ASSISTANCE TO UNITED STATES AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA
Assistance from 21 countries participating in the EU’s
Civil
Protection Mechanism has so far been accepted by the United States in the
clean-up after
Hurricane Katrina. The assistance represents water
pumps, first aid kits, meals, blankets, tents, telecommunications
equipment, etc. The bulk of European assistance has now been delivered.
About 50 airplanes have gone from Europe to the US with equipment and
personnel. Three further deliveries of donations from EU Member States to
the US are scheduled still this week. Details of the assistance can be
found in the
annexed list. Approximately 150 European civil protection
experts are or have been assisting the clean-up operations in the New
Orleans region.
Teams from Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have been working high-capacity pumps. They have considerably contributed to the dewatering of
the city of New Orleans, which has been almost completed during the past
week. A French team consisting of 17 divers is helping to unblock the
levees and to clear marine channels. An Italian emergency team has already
finished their task and returned to Europe. Sweden has sent
telecommunications equipment and technicians. Further civil protection
teams from Belgium, Hungary and Finland have been embedded in the
operations of charity organizations or the US Red Cross.
Peter Kaas-Claesson, the EU-coordination expert appointed by the European
Commission, has been on the ground in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for more
than a week, replacing David Horobin from the UK. Kaas-Claesson, a Danish
national, has long experience in disaster management. His tasks include
monitoring progress of EU shipments and EU teams in the field, liaising
with the US authorities, briefing any incoming EU teams, providing
technical advice and providing daily situation reports to the EU
Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) in Brussels.
In view of the new threats posed by the approaching Hurricane Rita, the
Commission has extended Kaas-Claesson´s mandate for several days to ensure
that the MIC will be able to provide first-hand assessments from the
situation on the ground after Rita's landfall. The MIC is on stand-by 24
hours/day and ready to assist the US with further assistance if requested.
The Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC)
The MIC is run by the Civil Protection Unit of the European Commission's
Environment
Directorate General. Its main
task is to facilitate the coordinated delivery of EU civil protection
assistance to disaster-stricken areas. The MIC has played an active role
in the management of the EU assistance following the Katrina disaster,
closely cooperating with the EU
Presidency and Member States since the
outset of the crisis.
The MIC is the central information hub of European civil protection
assistance. It keeps track of EU assistance, maintains contacts between
Member States and identifies suitable disaster management experts to be
sent on the ground. The EU experts have received special training in
disaster management and civil protection courses financed by the
Commission. The MIC also coordinates with other organizations such as the
Red Cross and the UN.
Further details on the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism and its Monitoring
and Information Centre can be found in
Memo/05/306 and
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/civil/index.htm.
For a complete updated list of the assistance offered by EU Member States,
please visit:
http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics.htm#EUHurricaneKatrinaAid.
Further Contact Information
Press and Media Relations
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
