The Pentagon announced Saturday that a reinforcement force of 500 US soldiers are on their way to the country's southern areas hit by Hurricane Rita.

The troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are heading to a place near New Orleans, Louisiana, to help with search-and-rescue efforts after Rita made a predawn landfall between Louisiana and Texas, it said.

Meanwhile, five mortuary teams will also be dispatched to Texas,joining the other five military communication teams which have already been there to help rescue efforts.

The Pentagon said another 3,200 soldiers will be sent to the hurricane zone by Sunday if needed.

At present, US President George W. Bush is tracking Rita's movement within an Air Force base at the headquarters of the US Northern Command, Colorado.

Later in the day, Bush plans to fly to Austin, Texas, to visit the state's emergency operation center and then to San Antonio where he will spend the night.

As part of the national emergency arrangement in the aftermath of Sept.11 terror attacks, the US Northern Command was put in charge of the military's hurricane response.

Ahead of Rita's landfall, the command sent satellite phones andlong-range radios to avoid post-hurricane communication breakdowns.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Acting Director David Paulison said Saturday morning that he thought the government has done what should be done at this point.

"Right now, we just have to wait out the storm, see exactly where it makes landfall, and then move ahead with our supplies that we have on the ground and our resources," he said.

Days before Rita's landfall, FEMA has stockpiled four days' worth of food, water and ice in Texas and Louisiana, and the Pentagon added 13,273 active-duty troops to the 36,108 National Guard personnel stationed throughout the region, according to Paulison.

Source: Xinhua