St Paul, Minnesota  - The Republican presidential nominating convention was put on ice Monday by the unfolding natural disaster of Hurricane Gustav along the Gulf Coast.

But the pregnancy of the 17-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain's vice presidential choice, kept McCain in the headlines during a day otherwise devoted to coverage of Hurricane Gustav's arrival in storm-weary New Orleans.

The monster hurricane prompted last-minute changes in the convention, which was to have opened with a raft of political speeches later Monday, including from US President George W Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

Mindful of avoiding political rhetoric and celebrations as the country watches the hurricane slam into the coast, McCain and his campaign on Sunday decided that Republican delegates would only meet for two hours to take care of essential business.

Bush headed to Texas Monday to be with federal storm rescue coordinators - a drastic change from his actions in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina approached, then flooded New Orleans, with little visibility or supervision of federal efforts from Bush.

Federal emergency coordinators were blamed for the delayed rescue of tens of thousands of New Orleans residents who went for days without food and water. Katrina killed 1,800 in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Palin, 44, the little-known governor of Alaska, was McCain's surprise choice for vice president announced on Friday.

On Monday, she and husband Todd issued an e-mail confirmation that their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant.

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," the couple said.

"We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents," they said.

Palin, the mother of five children, brings youth and gender to the ticket of McCain, who is 72. She is also an outspoken opponent of abortion, and her choice was seen as a pitch to conservative Republicans uneasy about the more centrist position of McCain on many issues.

At one point, McCain was reported to even be open to the idea of former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, who favours keeping abortions legal, as his vice president.

The Palins said that Bristol and "the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family."

Normally, the first day of a presidential convention kicks off with party rhetoric and bombast, although there had been some uneasiness among McCain supporters about the appearance of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

McCain has in recent months avoided close connections with Bush, his popularity rating dragged down by a slumping economy and the war in Iraq.

But such worries disappeared with Bush's decision to go to Texas.

Republican delegates will start meeting about 2000 GMT on Monday to confirm accreditation of party delegates and adopt the party platform and rules.

Organizers said they would make decisions day-to-day about the programme on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it was not clear when the official nomination of McCain would take place. Candidates traditionally hold their acceptance speeches on Thursday.

It's the first time in anyone's memory that a party convention has been so drastically changed because of an outside event, a commentator told CNN.

"It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster," McCain said over the weekend. (dpa)