Canada is sending thousands of beds, blankets, surgical gloves and dressings and medical supplies to the hurricane-ravaged U.S. Gulf Coast.

“This is the beginning of an integrated effort,” Dr. Howard Njoo of the Public Health Agency of Canada said at a press conference Sunday. “This is just a starting point of what we can give to our American friends.”

The agency is sending the relief in response to an official request from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Other Canadian organizations are also sending help to the devastated region

…the ships going down would contain supplies such as water containers, toiletry kits, insect repellents and other medical supplies need to deal with “the anticipated level of disease.”

Also, a team of divers from Canada’s Pacific fleet base is joining the Armed Forces relief effort in the wake of the hurricane.

The 18-member team is flying from Victoria to Pensacola, Florida Sunday to join their U.S. Navy counterparts for deployment in search and rescue operations.