USA: Germans help pump water out of New Orleans

Record ID: 336688

  • Title: USA: Germans help pump water out of New Orleans
  • Date: 28th September 2005
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (German) TEAM LEADER STEFAN LASCHKE SAYING: "The city of New Orleans asked us to come here. There was a call for help from the mayor (Ray Nagin). He called our ministry and they contacted us and we went immediately."
  • Embargoed: 13th October 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVAD04TVAUJJ9WV4XF4W8DZE0D54
  • Story Text: One the many international crews helping New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina is a German emergency response team armed with the latest technology to rid the city of the water that poured in when its levees gave way.
    The crew, from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, are among thousands of specialists who have gone to the city to lend a hand.
    The Federal Agency for Technical Relief provides disasters assistance in Germany, and abroad, including the regions devastated by the 2004 tsnunami.
    "The city of New Orleans asked us to come here. There was a call for help from the mayor (Ray Nagin). He called our ministry and they contacted us and we went immediately," said team leader, Stefan Laschke.
    Even though they are specialists, the size of the task is by far the largest they have ever undertake.
    "This is by far the biggest job we've ever done. It's the worst conditions we've ever seen. But the pumps we have are really getting a lot of the water out," said Laschke.
    With their state of the art pumps, the team can rid an area of 400,000 gallons of water per minute.
    The team has been been working almost around the clock since they arrived, even as Hurricane Rita hit the U.S.
    Katrina and Rita -- two powerful hurricanes -- slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast less than a month apart, leaving death and destruction in their wakes.
    Katrina struck on August 29 and the smaller Rita plowed into the region on September 24.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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