Swedish response to Hurricane Katrina

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

received on September 1, 2005, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

, a general plea for disaster aid from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Swedish Rescue Services Agency made a formal offer of help through the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and the Swedish government granted the Rescue Service Agency clearance to render assistance.

On September 2, awaiting a formal request from the U.S. State Department

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

, the Rescue Service Agency prepared a Hercules cargo aircraft

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

filled with three complete GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications

GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...

systems, first aid kits, blankets, ready-to-eat meal

Combat ration

A field ration, or combat ration, is a canned or pre-packaged meal, easily prepared and eaten, transported by military troops on the battlefield...

s, generators, and 2 large water purification plants. The capacity of the water plants would provide 15,000 people with 7 litres water per day. Included was a five member expertise team.

Having yet to receive a formal request, the Swedish agency scheduled the plane to leave on September 4, but on Sunday, the U.S. declined the aid, saying it was currently unable to accept foreign aid packages. However, the U.S. State Department had not formally declined the country's help. The Swedish Rescue Services Agency stated that they would have the aircraft ready for immediate deployment upon receiving permission from the Bush Administration

George W. Bush administration

The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...

.

On September 7, Harry Thomas, coordinator for foreign aid at the U.S. State Department, publicly denied reports that the Rescue Service Agency was waiting with a plane on the ground in Sweden for flight clearance in the U.S., and had not heard from Washington. Claes Thorson, a spokesman at the Swedish Embassy in Washington said, "There is a lot of stuff offered, but we are having a problem getting it over,"

On September 12, the plane left Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport

Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport

Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport is an international airport serving the Gothenburg region in Sweden. With 4.3 million passengers in 2006 it is Sweden's second-largest airport...

for the United States carrying a payload of three Ericsson

Ericsson

Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...

GSM network

Network Switching Subsystem

Network switching subsystem is the component of a GSM system that carries out call switching and mobility management functions for mobile phones roaming on the network of base stations...

systems. A team of technical consultants to help with the aid package was also provided.

External links

Swedish Rescue Services Agency

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.