Convoys of National Guard troops are bringing desperately needed supplies to New Orleans, as rescue and relief efforts intensify, four days after Hurricane Katrina slammed through the U.S. Gulf Coast, devastating the region.  The supplies came as President Bush toured the area.

President Bush visited the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast states of Alabama and Mississippi, thanking rescue workers and speaking with residents who tearfully told him of their ordeal.

Mr. Bush then took a helicopter tour of flood-swamped New Orleans where tens of thousands of people have been stranded, many without food, water and medical supplies.

People and local officials who live in the area have been critical of what they see as a slow response to one of the nation's worst natural disasters.

As President Bush toured the area, convoys of National Guard troops brought urgently needed supplies to people waiting to be evacuated from New Orleans.

Mr. Bush says the response in New Orleans to the disaster has been unacceptable so far, but vowed that more help is on the way.