Greece prepares help for hurricane-hit USA
A week after Hurricane Katrina devastated the state of Louisiana and other parts of the southern USA, Greece yesterday said it would send aid to the region on top of the assistance that is to be provided by the EU, including two cruise ships to house homeless people. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was expressing the «solidarity of the Greek people for the American people who have been suffering the catastrophic results of Hurricane Katrina.» The ministry said that Greece would be sending emergency aid to the region but no details were given. Members of the country’s emergency rescue team (EMAK) will also be sent to the US to help to free New Orleans residents trapped by floodwaters and help evacuate them from the city. Greece will also be sending two cruise liners to the area to provide shelter over the next few months for people who lost their homes in the floods, the ministry added. Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said that Washington had accepted the offer of assistance without giving any details about the ships that will be involved. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos said that there was no indication that any of the 5,000 Greek-Americans living in Louisiana had been killed by the hurricane or the floods.
