A warning of imminent hurricane strike was posted in Jamaica Thursday as a strengthening Tropical Storm Gustav bore down.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 7:30 a.m., Gustav was about 80 miles east of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 170 miles south of Guantanamo, Cuba.

Sustained winds had increased to near 70 mph, just below the hurricane threshold of 74 mph, and winds extended 50 miles around the center.

Forecasters said Gustav's center would strike Jamaica Thursday and warned of coastal storm surge flooding of 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels and as much as 12 inches of rain. Wednesday, officials in Haiti and the Dominican Republic reported at least 22 people were killed by flooding and landslides when Gustav hit Hispaniola as a Category 1 hurricane.

U.S. forecasters said the storm would likely regain hurricane status as it moved over warm waters toward the west at 6 mph on Thursday.

While Gustav's ultimate path wasn't certain, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Wednesday and mobilized 3,000 National Guard troops, The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans reported.

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