personnel unload Canadian relief supplies from a
Royal Canadian Air Force transport aircraft in
Pensacola, Florida. Below is a list of countries who offered aid. Some of these efforts were not formally accepted by the U.S. government (see
"Actual Funds Used" below). (LCAC) as they prepare to work on rehabilitation projects in the Biloxi, MS area. In late August 2005,
Hurricane Katrina struck the southeastern portion of the contiguous United States, causing severe damage and destruction in several U.S. states and killing roughly 1,800 people. • : Donated to the hurricane victims. • : Pledged (approximately ) On September 2, the Government of Canada announced it was sending three
warships along with a
Coast Guard vessel, and three
Sea King helicopters to the area. Over 1,000 personnel were involved in the operation, including engineers and navy divers. The Canadian Heavy Urban Search and Rescue out of
Vancouver was in Louisiana from September 1, due to security they started their mission on Sept 3.
Ontario Hydro,
Hydro-Québec, and
Manitoba Hydro, along with other electrical utilities, had crews set to go to the affected areas. On September 2,
Air Canada participated along with U.S. member airlines of the
Air Transport Association, in a voluntary airline industry initiative to support rescue and relief operations. Although it is hard to put an exact number on Canadian cash donations because of some Canadians donating directly to the American agencies, Canada is widely believed to be the highest international donor nation, and with the Netherlands and Mexico was one of the three countries in the world to supply direct military assistance in addition to civilian donations and supplies, as the U.S. government declined direct military support from all other nations. • : On September 2, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would offer $5 million A chartered plane carrying the supplies arrived on September 7. • : Pledged more than $3 million to the relief effort, plus supplies. Also, before the
2006 World Baseball Classic, Cuba said they would donate their share of the winnings to Katrina victims to ensure the
United States embargo against Cuba was not violated. However, after the
tournament, the U.S. government refused to allow the donation. • : Offered $50,000. • : Offered rescue teams, field hospitals and pumps and water processing equipment. • : Offered water purification units. • $100,000 was given by the Finnish government to be distributed by U.S. authorities. A Finnish cruise ship, Finnjet, operated by Silja Lines, was sent to Baton Rouge for use by the LSU Department of Medicine. 9,000 sheets, 1,000 pillowcases, 200 small tarps, 200 first aid kits, 120 cooler cases and 3,500 thermo sheets were sent to Little Rock for distribution in Louisiana. Nokia donated $1 million to the U.S. Red Cross and matched employee contributions at 100 percent. Mobile phones were donated to shelters in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. • Additionally Finland offered 300 tents, a water purification unit, sterile gloves, bed sheets, pillow covers, tarps and first aid kits. • : Concrete help was initially refused by the U.S. government; however, on September 2,
Condoleezza Rice said that the U.S. authorities would assess the situation and contact French authorities accordingly. On September 4, U.S. authorities formally requested French assistance. France offered disaster relief stocks prepositioned in
Martinique (600 tents, around 1000 beds, 60 generators, 30 pumps, 3 water purification stations, 1000 folding
jerricans and other material). A 35-person team of the
Sécurité Civile (Civil Defence) from
Guadeloupe and Martinique were made ready, and a 60-man "catastrophe intervention" aeromobile detachment were prepared to be ferried from mainland in a short time. The Ministry of Defence offered 2 planes already in the zone and 6 more from mainland France, and two ships of the French Navy (probably the BATRAL or
Champlain, and the frigate and a 20-person team of emergency medical specialists. The non-governmental organisation
Télécoms Sans Frontières and the company
Véolia Environnement offered aid in communications and water management respectively. On September 7, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs stated that an
Airbus Beluga from
Toulouse with 12.7 tonnes of supplies flew to
Mobile, Alabama, after a brief stop in the U.K. to load more food. Two
CASA airplanes from Martinique landed in
Little Rock, Arkansas, ferrying tents, covers and 1000 rations of food for 24 hours. • : Pledged $500,000. On Saturday, September 10 at 4:30 PM, the
THW started the first 15,000 litre pump at pumping-station No. 19. Three other 15,000 litres pumps followed. The drainage of New Orleans would have taken much more time if these pumps and the THW specialists had not been provided. : The
Minister-President of the federal state of
Rhineland-Palatinate addressed a letter to the commanders of the American forces stationed in his state offering financial support to those affected by the flooding. : Another German Air Force cargo plane carrying several thousand military rations (
MRE) was denied entry into U.S. airspace since, according to U.S. authorities, they were not certified
BSE-free. This was disputed by German authorities, pointing out that they were BSE-free according to NATO rules, that U.S. soldiers would eat them regularly during joint operations (e.g. Afghanistan) and that these meals fully complied to U.N. rules. • : Offered $85,000, two cruise ships to house those left homeless, a rescue team, and supplies. • : Made offers of help and assistance. • : Made offers of help and assistance and organized a telethon to raise money for victims. • : Offered 135 flooding and sanitation experts. • : Pledged $5,000 and offered to send a Special Search and Rescue Team, and also five doctors. • : Offered $500,000. • : India offered to contribute $5 million to the United States Red Cross for relief and rehabilitation of the victims. They also offered to donate medicines and large water purification systems for use in households and small communities in the stricken areas, where potable water was a key concern. India sent tarps, blankets and hygiene kits. An Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft delivered 25 tonnes of relief supplies for the Hurricane Katrina victims at the
Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas on September 13, 2005. • : Offered to send 45 doctors and 155 other medical staffers and 10,000 blankets to help survivors. • : Iran's envoy to OPEC said his country was ready to send up to five shiploads of crude oil to the U.S. But he said this could only happen if U.S. sanctions were lifted first. • : Pledged $1 million to the Red Cross via the
Red Crescent. • : Offered to send 30 members of the
Irish Defence Forces. The Irish army would have supplied thousands of ready meals, tents, blankets, water purification services and medical aid, including first aid kits, crutches and wheelchairs. The group would have included about ten experts in stress debriefing. Six of the troops would have operated two water purification plants. The Irish government also announced it is to provide initial funding of
EUR 1.2 million for the victims. • : Offered field hospitals and hundreds of doctors, nurses, technicians and other experts in trauma, natural disasters and public health. • An Israeli airlift arrived in
Little Rock,
Arkansas with an eighty-ton shipment of humanitarian aid, including baby food, diapers, water, ready-to-eat meals, clothes, tents, blankets, mattresses, stretchers, first aid kits, wheelchairs, and other medical supplies. • The
Magen David Adom began "United Brotherhood Operation," which sent a plane-load of supplies and financial assistance. •
IsraAid sent a delegation of medical personnel, psychologists, and experienced search-and-rescue divers. The 18-member team – which included physicians, mental health professionals, trauma specialists, logistics experts and a special unit of Israeli police divers – arrived in St. Bernard Parish and Plaquemines Parish on Sept. 10 and spent a week and a half assisting fire department search-and-rescue squads and sitting in on daily planning meetings that included local leadership and a complement of
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), police, military, fire representatives and medical teams. • Five universities in Israel welcomed displaced American students from the affected areas and invited both undergraduate and graduate students to continue their studies in Israel. In particular, medical students unable to attend the
Tulane University in New Orleans can attend
Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine. • : Italy offered to send two
Hercules C130 cargo aircraft fitted with emergency aids, including 300 Adult camp beds, 300 blankets, 600 sheets, 1 suction pump, 6 lifecrafts, 11.200 chlorine tablets, 5 units of large first aid kits, baby food & formula, pumps, tents and power generators. Italy also offered to send some experts of the
Protezione Civile to help coordinating relief efforts in the damaged area. One Japanese individual, Takashi Endo, donated US$1 million from his personal funds to Katrina relief efforts. • : Parliament approved $500 million for aid in oil and other humanitarian aid. • : Offered a disaster relief team • : Made offers of help and assistance. • : Team of five persons, 1,000 camp beds and 2,000 blankets. • :
Royal Netherlands Navy Frigate
HNLMS Van Amstel (F831) arrived from the
Netherlands Antilles in early September. The frigate was filled with supplies including food, water, fuel, shovels, and sandbags. The ship launched two
Lynx helicopters that distributed aid from a land-based airfield. The Dutch Navy believed their help was accepted despite American refusals of other nations because the ship operated without burdening local resources. On September 7, the U.S. government announced that it would take up the Dutch government's offer to send water pumps, and also five water management experts. Assistance concluded September 12. • : Pledged $2 million through the Red Cross. This contribution was in addition to the offers the government has already made to send an Urban Search and Rescue Team, a Disaster Victim Identification team or post disaster recovery personnel. • : Made offers of help and assistance. • : Pledged US$1 million to hurricane disaster relief. • : Offered 2 teams of medical experts. • :
Saudi Refining, a Houston-based subsidiary of state oil firm
Saudi Aramco, donated $5 million to the American Red Cross, as well as $250,000 from
AGFUND. • : Three Singaporean
CH-47 Chinook helicopters and thirty-eight
RSAF personnel from a training detachment based in
Grand Prairie,
Texas assisted in relief operations from 1 September. They had so far ferried about 700 evacuees and hauled tons of supplies in 39
sorties on 4 September. One more CH-47 Chinook helicopter was sent to aid in relief efforts. • : Promised blankets, beds, first aid kits. • : $120,000 worth of cots, mattresses, blankets, temporary shelters and first-aid kits. • : Offered $30 million and dispatched a rescue team. On September 7 two Hercules cargo aircraft took off with 15 tons of food rations, electrical generators and batteries, medical equipment and other humanitarian assistance collected by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI). A second envoy was sent a few days later. • : Pledged $25,000 for relief efforts. • : Sweden offered to send medical and technical aid, and a
Hercules cargo aircraft filled with three complete
GSM systems, first aid kits, blankets,
Ready-to-eat meals, generators, 2 heavy water purification plants, as well as water sanitation experts. On September 4 the U.S. State Department declined the aid, saying it was currently unable to accept foreign aid packages. On September 12 the Hercules plane left the
Göteborg Landvetter Airport, carrying a cargo of three
Ericsson GSM network systems. A team of technical consultants to help with the aid package was also provided. • : Switzerland offered specialized personnel and material to the U.S. and the
World Health Organization (WHO). In accordance with U.S. requirements, 50 tonnes of rescue equipment were ready to be sent, along with two logisticians of the
Direction du développement et de la coopération (DDC, "Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation") to help coordinate distributions. Four physicians and two water specialists were also put to the disposal of the WHO. • : Sent at least 60 doctors and nurses along with rice. • : Sent two C-130s with relief supplies. • : Promised $2.5 million in cash and aid. • : Offered $200,000. It also offered medical experts, Urban Search and Rescue equipment, Marine engineers and high-volume pumps, skilled personnel including engineers who could support recovery efforts for installations and systems, technicians, staff trained in disaster management and emergency response activities. It also pledged to release an extra of oil. • : President
Hugo Chávez of Venezuela offered one million barrels of oil and 5 million dollars in aid to the United States. • : Pledged $100,000. • : Pledged $100,000 through the Red Cross. ==Pledges from international organizations==