When the tropical cyclone Hurricane Katrina struck the United States at the end of August, it left a heavy death toll and caused catastrophic flood damage to New Orleans and the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross, brings together four organisations working in the field of cultural heritage (ICA, ICOM, ICOMOS and IFLA), to coordinate preparation of and responses to emergency situations.

Read the ICBS Statement on the Hurricane Katrina