U.S. forecasters say Hurricane Gustav has become a very dangerous storm that continues to grow more powerful as it closes in on western Cuba.

At last report, Gustav had winds of 205 kilometers an hour and was expected to pass over western Cuba later Saturday.

Forecasters say the storm could produce more than a half-meter of rain in some parts of Cuba. It has claimed at least 80 lives in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The U.S National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts Gustav will move into the southern Gulf of Mexico early Sunday and the northern Gulf by Monday morning.

Gustav is expected to strike the southern U.S. anywhere from western Florida to Texas.
Separately, Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to move near the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean late Sunday or early Monday. Hanna had wind speeds of 85 kilometers per hour and also was expected to strengthen.

Some U.S. Gulf coast states - Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas - have started evacuating residents as Gustav approaches.
 
U.S. President George Bush declared a federal state of emergency in the state of Louisiana, a likely target for the storm. Its path may include the city of New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.