Gustav, now a depression, heads north

MIAMI, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Former Hurricane Gustav remained a rainmaker Tuesday night as it moved into Arkansas as a tropical depression.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the center of the storm was 15 miles south of Texarkana, Ark., and 50 miles north of Shreveport, La., the Hydrometeorologic Prediction Center reported. Flood warnings were posted for parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

The system had sustained winds of 20 mph.

Gustav made landfall Monday about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans, from which almost 2 million people fled during the weekend.

CNN said at least seven deaths in Louisiana were associated with the Category 2 hurricane that came ashore with winds of 110 mph. But New Orleans escaped the kind of devastation it suffered three years ago with Hurricane Katrina.

At a news conference Monday night, Mayor Ray Nagin urged evacuees not to rush back home, and to follow news reports.

"Power lines are down all over the city (and) there's a significant number of homes and businesses that are without power," Nagin said.