Sep 21, 6:39 PM EDT
*
La., Miss. Prepare for Intense Tropical Storms*

By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Coastal Louisiana and Mississippi prepared Friday
for what could be their first brush with tropical weather since
hurricanes Katrina and Rita laid waste to the area and killed more than
1,600 people more than two years ago. A tropical depression lurking off
the Florida Gulf Coast was expected to grow into a weak tropical storm
before coming ashore Saturday morning, probably in Mississippi.

No evacuations were ordered, but authorities were closely monitoring the
storm, which battered parts of Florida before moving into the Gulf of
Mexico.

People living in some flood-prone areas of Mississippi were urged to
seek substantial shelter. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph were also possible,
raising concerns for the thousands of residents still living in trailers
issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Once you've been through Katrina, it's got to be pretty bad to scare
you off," said Larry Hesler, a retired fisherman with a leathery tan who
lives in a government trailer on a weedy lot where his sister's home
used to stand in east Biloxi. The 63-year-old said he won't worry about
this storm unless the winds top 60 mph.

Sandy Pallon, 59, wasn't taking any chances. She lives in a FEMA trailer
park on a treeless gravel lot where an elementary school stood before
Katrina. She loaded up her sport utility vehicle Friday and prepared to
go to her mother's house in Hattiesburg.

"I went through the other," she said, referring to Katrina, "and I
definitely don't want to go through that again."

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency Thursday
night to begin preparations for stormy weather. In New Orleans, showers
were expected to start Friday evening and bring 2 to 4 inches by the end
of the day Saturday.

At 5 p.m. EDT Friday, the depression was centered about 65 miles
southeast of Pensacola, Fla. It was moving to the west-northwest, with
maximum sustained winds near 35 mph.

Tropical storm warnings stretched from Apalachicola, Fla., to the mouth
of the Mississippi River. Forecasts showed the system possibly moving as
far east as Mobile, Ala., or as far west as New Orleans.

Mark Smith, a spokesman for Louisiana's emergency office, said the rapid
development of Hurricane Humberto - which grew last week from a tropical
depression to a hurricane that made landfall within 16 hours -
underscored the need to be prepared.

In a case like that, where the storm blows up so close to shore,
"there's precious little you can do about it, because it takes time to
move resources," he said.

No flights had been canceled at Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport as of early Friday afternoon, and the airport
planned to stay open, a spokeswoman said.

Before it spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, the system spawned a storm
that was also blamed for severe weather, including a tornado, that
damaged about 50 homes in Eustis, Fla. Only two injuries, both minor,
were reported in the area about 30 miles northwest of Orlando.

"It's amazing - we're completely blessed," said Brett MacLaughlin, who
safely rode out the storm with his mother and stepfather in a bathroom
as tree limbs crashed through windows outside. "The entire neighborhood
is very blessed."

In the Pacific, Hurricane Ivo was downgraded Friday to a tropical storm
and was expected to continue to weaken as it headed toward Mexico's Baja
California peninsula, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm had sustained winds of about 70 mph and was slowly chugging
northeast toward Mexico.

Forecasters predicted it would be a weak tropical storm or a tropical
depression by the time it hit a relatively unpopulated stretch of
coastline far north of the resort of Cabo San Lucas, probably sometime
early Monday.

The area was hit Sept. 4 by Hurricane Henriette, which killed 10 people,
including two Japanese tourists, and destroyed about 2,000 homes.

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Associated Press writers Emily Wasgster Pettus, Kevin McGill, Stacey
Plaisance and Michael Kunzelman in New Orleans contributed to this
report. Ron Word contributed from Eustis, Fla.