ST LOUIS — More than 4,000 people have been rescued from rooftops, flooded neighborhoods and hospitals throughout the Gulf Coast region since rescue operations began Monday, and joint-agency rescue operations are continuing day and night.

The Coast Guard is placing a priority of evacuating patients from hospitals and is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deliver food and water to stranded survivors. More than 23,000 pounds of water have been delivered thus far.

Coast Guard assets and personnel from all over the country have been deployed to the area. Many were in place before the storm hit, and more are on their way. Forty-eight aircraft from nine air stations are also on scene conducting search, rescue and humanitarian assistance operations.

The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Spencer arrived in the New Orleans area last night to provide communications and logistical support to Coast Guard rescue personnel. Twenty-four other cutters are operating in the Gulf of Mexico, with eight more en route.

Waterway surveys continue. The Port of Destin/Panama City is now open to vessels with a 34-foot draft or less. The status of all other ports and waterways has not changed. The Port of Mobile is open to barge traffic only. Surveys of the Mississippi River are continuing.

There are approximately 90 vessels waiting to enter the Port of New Orleans. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans is establishing a task force to work with the maritime industry and the New Orleans Port Authority to prioritize how those vessels will be allowed into port once the river reopens.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port offloaded oil Thursday night for the first time since the hurricane; four more vessels are there waiting to offload.

The Minerals Management Service is providing daily updates on the offshore platforms and rigs at http://www.mms.gov.