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Washington - Germany sends new
relief team to New Orleans in Wake of Hurricane RitaA 39-person team from
the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) will arrive in New
Orleans tomorrow to relieve some of the THW experts who have been in the
Gulf Coast region since September 9. In the wake of new flooding unleashed
by Hurricane Rita, the THW will continue its work in helping to pump
floodwaters out of New Orleans and neighboring parishes for at least one
more week at the request of the US government and the city of New Orleans.
Working virtually non-stop over the past 21 days, THW teams using their own
high-capacity pumps have been able to pump nearly 237 million gallons of
floodwater out of the city and neighboring St. Bernard's Parish. They
completed their work at 37 locations, but after Hurricane Rita caused new
flooding in parts of the city and surrounding area, THW experts, in
coordination with local authorities, began work at new locations in public
buildings and the city drainage system.
THW initially brought a total 89 experts and 15 high-capacity pumps for the
mission. Teams have worked mainly at important public facilities such as
Charity Hospital, significant transportation hubs and the local drainage
systems, as well as at the Superdome. They have been supported by a
five-person team from Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe as well as a rapid-deployment
Humanitarian Intervention Team from the Luxemburg civilian protection
service.
"In light of a disaster of this proportion, it is the duty of every
government to offer assistance and to support those affected as much as
possible," German Interior Minister Otto Schily said today in Berlin. "I am
glad that the American government has accepted the German offer of help and
that the work of the THW there is progressing well. We gladly extend the THW
deployment in the crisis region at the request of the USA and are thus able
to contribute to easing the situation."
The THW is the emergency relief and disaster control organization of the
German federal government. With its highly specialized units, the THW is
able to meet the demands of public safety and eliminate hazards at the
disaster site. As a disaster control organization, the THW is staffed by
volunteers who assist people in need. Nationwide, 77,000 Germans volunteer
at 665 THW local chapters.
For more information on Germany's assistance in the Gulf Region, see the
Fact Sheet "Germany Responds Quickly with Assistance to US in Aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina" on www.germany.info. |
