Katrina traps 5 South Africans

2005-09-02 12:24

Pretoria - Five South Africans were believed to be trapped in the hurricane-stricken city of New Orleans, the foreign affairs department said on Friday.

"We have received notification from our embassy in Washington of five South Africans trapped," spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.

Further details of the five were not immediately available.

Thousands of people are reported to have died and about one million displaced when the Force 4 strength Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast this week.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said natural disasters like these highlighted the need for countries in the world to work together to address contributing factors, like climate change.

"We all feel very much for the people of New Orleans," she told reporters after a meeting in Pretoria with her Omani counterpart, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

"Our hearts go out to those families and relatives and the American people as a whole.

"It reminds us we all have to work together to do everything we can to... mitigate these kinds of natural disasters - climate change etc. This is why it is so important for the world to work together to control some of the human acts (resulting in) climate change."

The United States has been criticised for its contribution to global warming and for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse emissions.

Some scientists have reportedly suggested global warming was contributing to an increase in the ferocity of hurricane activity.

- SAPA