Posted on 09/01/2005 8:14:06 PM PDT by naturalman1975
AN emergency team of 20 Australian experts has been offered to help the US in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Prime Minister John Howard says.
Mr Howard said the team could depart almost immediately.
That follows an offer yesterday of two specialist emergency managers to assist with the community recovery phase of the response to the natural disaster which has engulfed the Gulf Coast.
"We haven't been approached but we have approached the Americans," Mr Howard told ABC radio in Tasmania.
"We have been in touch overnight Australian time with the Federal Emergency Management Authority which is the key body in the US co-ordinating relief and we have offered a special emergency team of up to 20 experts from Australia which we will send to the US immediately in order to help."
Mr Howard said Australia was still waiting to hear back from the Americans.
"If they come back accepting that and asking for assistance in other areas, we will certainly do our level best to provide it," he said.
"There should not be an assumption that because America is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world this isn't a major challenges and a major crisis.
"You only have to see the scenes of devastation on television."
Mr Howard said there were obviously communities in New Orleans which had suffered horrendous loss of property and also tragic loss of life in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Eighty per cent of the city is now under water after Katrina blew through on Monday, with much of the flooding coming after two levees broke.
Mr Howard said it was extraordinary that it might take eight or nine months before people could be moved back into the city of 500,000 people and the damage was not limited to New Orleans.
Mr Howard said Australia had expertise in disaster relief which would be of practical help in the US.
"It is a demonstration of our friendship and goodwill towards the people of the US," he said.
"If there are other ways and we are looking at those other ways, they will be announced during the day and in coming days."
God bless him.
Thanks to our fellow British descendants. We should take them up on their offer! Their hearts are in the right place.
Howard and bush are buds. We now share intel.
That is so good to know. The world hates us. At least, until they need us.
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