President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek met with U.S. Ambassador William Cabaniss at Prague Castle Monday to discuss Czech aid to the region, struck Aug. 29 by the worst natural disaster in modern American history.

The United States has called for assistance from NATO and the European Union, and the Czech Republic has already offered to send financial aid worth 25 million Kč ($1 million) as well as two special rescue teams with experience from the Prague floods.

"The Czechs made a very generous offer of assistance to the ambassador during the meeting, looking for where they could be of help, especially considering their own experience with the floods of a few years ago," said Jan Krč, spokesman for the U.S. embassy. "We will get back to them by the end of the week, to let them know what will be most helpful."

First-hand reports, meanwhile, continue to filter in from Czechs and Prague expats caught up in the heart of the devastation.

"It was a life-altering experience," said Steven Watsky, a Prague-based journalist and Prague Post columnist who was in New Orleans when the floods struck. "During the storm, I had to cross a street that was waist-deep in water. The current dragged me under and I got a mouthful of oily water. More than 350,000 homes in the New Orleans area sustained damage. It's a nightmare."

Watsky added he has since been evacuated to Houston and does not know yet whether his family home is still standing.

A Czech tourist in New Orleans during the hurricane, meanwhile, said the city resembled a war zone, complete with street shootings and residents attempting to flee in stolen cars.

Marek Raniš told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that when the levees protecting the city finally burst, he and his friends fled through rising floodwaters from a French Quarter hotel in the city center.

"People behaved like [they were] mad," Raniš said. "It was dangerous. Some of them raised arms and stole cars from other people in which they then drove away."