WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA (AP) - Hurricane Gustav roared into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico on Sunday after destroying homes and roads in Cuba, and the mayor of New Orleans ordered residents to flee the ''storm of the century'' by morning.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Gustav weakened slightly but was expected to regain strength as it moves over warm waters toward the U.S. coast, possibly becoming a top-scale Category 5 hurricane later Sunday.
Forecasters upgraded a hurricane watch to a warning for over 500 miles (800 kilometers) of U.S. Gulf coast from Cameron, Louisiana, near the Texas border to the Alabama-Florida state line, meaning hurricane conditions are expected there within 24 hours.
Even after slowing to Category 3 status before sunrise Sunday, Gustav packed top winds near 120 mph (195 kph).
Gustav was just short of Category 5 strength when it made landfall Saturday on mainland Cuba near the community of Los Palacios in Pinar del Rio - a region that produces much of the tobacco used to make the nation's famed cigars.
At least 300,000 Cubans were evacuated from Gustav's path as screaming 140 mph (220 kph) winds toppled telephone poles and fruit trees, shattered windows and tore off the tin roofs of homes.
Cuban Civil defense chief Ana Isla said there were ''many people injured'' on Isla de la Juventud, an island of 87,000 people south of the mainland, but no reports of deaths. She said nearly all the island's roads were washed out and some regions were heavily flooded.
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