US asks for EU, NATO for aid

The United States has asked the European Union and NATO for emergency assistance, requesting blankets, first aid kits, water trucks and food for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the two organizations said Sunday.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the 25-nation bloc was "ready to contribute to the US efforts aimed at alleviating the humanitarian crisis" in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama - the US states hardest hit by Katrina.

The 26-nation NATO alliance said it too had received a request for aid from Washington. The United States has asked for NATO relief support in the form of food rations for the thousands of people evacuated from New Orleans and other areas, the alliance said in a statement.

Rescuers cleared New Orleans' Superdome football stadium and the convention centre of thousands sheltered there Sunday and refugees were being taken to sports stadiums and other huge shelters across Texas and northern Louisiana.

Meanwhile, thousands are feared dead in New Orleans alone as troops have begun moving emergency supplies within the city and establishing order to halt looting and horrific violence in the city.

Source: China Daily