The U.S. official overseeing relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina says rescuers are finding many fewer bodies than expected.

In an interview with the television program Fox News Sunday, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen said it was hard to estimate a final death toll from the disaster.

But the admiral joined a growing chorus of officials suggesting fears that Katrina killed up to 10,000 people may be unfounded. 

Authorities continue a block-by-block search for bodies in the city of New Orleans as floodwaters there continue to recede.

The official death from Katrina toll now stands at nearly 400, with 154 in New Orleans.

President Bush returns to the southern U.S. coast later Sunday to get a first-hand look at the cleanup and recovery effort.