World Reacts to Disaster With Shock and Sympathy

From papal prayers to telegrams from China, the world reacted with an outpouring of compassion Wednesday for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, in messages tinged with shock that disaster of such a scale could occur in the United States.

The storm was seen as an equalizer -- proof that any country, weak or strong, could be victim to natural disaster. Images of flooded New Orleans drew particular sympathy in Central Europe, where floodwaters only days ago killed dozens.

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent messages of sympathy to President Bush. Chirac, who has famously quarreled with Bush over the Iraq war, addressed his letter “Dear George.”

Pope Benedict XVI said he was praying for victims of the hurricane, and Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed his “belief that the American people will definitely overcome the natural disaster and rebuild their beautiful homeland.”

Amid the sympathy, however, there was criticism.

With half of the Netherlands’ population below sea level, the Dutch prepared for a “perfect storm” soon after floods in 1953 killed 2,000. “I don’t want to sound overly critical, but it’s hard to imagine that [the damage caused by Katrina] could happen in a Western country,” said Ted Sluijter, spokesman for the park where the nation’s massive hydraulic seawalls are exhibited. “It seemed like plans for protection and evacuation weren’t really in place.”

Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for World Wildlife Fund Germany, said global warming had increased the intensity of hurricanes, and “the Americans have a big impact on the greenhouse effect.”