US President George W.Bush visited the hurricane-ravaged areas on Sept. 2. He said yesterday that another 7,000 active-duty soldiers would be sent to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.-Xinhua

US President George W. Bush said Saturday that his administration will dispatch another 7,000 active-duty soldiers to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Bush made the announcement during a live broadcast of his weekly address to the nation at the White House Rose Garden.

He said the reinforcement is formed by troops from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division, the 1st Cavalry Division and the US Marines' 1st and 2nd Expeditionary Forces.

With next three days, they will join the 4,000 active duty troops that have already been deployed in the hurricane-devastated areas in US Gulf Coast, according to Bush.

The decision came after he met with US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other high-ranking officials overseeing the disaster-relief efforts.

In his address, Bush said there's "a lot of difficult work ahead," and he promised "we will not rest until we get this right and the job is done."

Bush made the remarks a day after visiting the hurricane-ravaged areas in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.