Gustav regained hurricane strength Friday afternoon as it moved from Jamaica to the Caymans.

A U.S. Air Force hurricane hunter recorded winds from Gustav of about 75 mph in mid-afternoon, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

At 2 p.m., the center of Gustav was 125 miles east-southeast of Grand Cayman and 425 miles east-southeast of the western tip of Cuba, forecasters said. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 11 mph.

Gustav was expected to hit the Caymans late Friday and Cuba Saturday before heading for the Gulf Coast of the United States.

CNN said authorities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama activated storm plans Thursday, as the forecast five-day track shows an eventual U.S. landfall anywhere between Corpus Christi, Texas, and Panama City, Fla. Preparations included evacuating several thousand people living in trailers after their homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Amtrak announced Friday that it was suspending rail service into and out of New Orleans at least through next Thursday. The Crescent, from New York to New Orleans won't run south of Atlanta, the City of New Orleans from Chicago will terminate at Memphis and the Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Florida won't run east of San Antonio, with no alternate bus service provided on any route.

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