As Dennis made its way inland, officials warned it continued to pose a significant threats and could cause major flooding and potentially deadly tornadoes.

The powerful storm left many coastal areas without power as it made landfall at 2:25 pm (1925 GMT) near Pensacola, Florida, the city worst hit by Hurricane Ivan, one of four storms that pounded the southeastern US state last year.

Dennis downed trees and power lines, sent roofs, signposts and tree limbs tiles flying and brought large waves crashing ashore, threatening structures weakened by Ivan 10 months ago.

It lost a little steam in the Gulf of Mexico, but was still a a powerful category three hurricane, on a scale of five, when it came ashore, packing winds of up to 192 kilometers (120 miles). It continued to weaken as it moved inland and was downgraded to a category two as it moved inland.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush made it clear he expected the storm to cause severe damage, and that many people living in temporary shelters since Ivan might once again find themselves homeless.

"A lot of people are going to hurt, particularly the hundreds of thousands who live in trailers," he said at a news conference shortly after Dennis hit land.

The governor, a brother of the US president, said 2,600 members of the national guard would join emergency crews headed to the worst affected areas, where emergency supplies distribution should start on Monday.

The year's first Atlantic hurricane, Dennis killed at least 16 people in the Caribbean and one person in southern Florida before pounding the US Gulf shores.

Authorities had ordered 1.5 million people to evacuate coastal areas ranging from western Florida to New Orleans, but said Sunday morning that anyone who had not left should hunker down and brace for the storm's fury.

Weather forecasters warned that Dennis would impact areas far inland. "Hurricane force winds associated with Dennis may occur as far as 100 to 150 miles (160 to 240 kilometers) inland along the track of the hurricane," the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Severe flooding as well as tornadoes could occur along the inland track of the storm, whose remnants are expected to stall near the Ohio Valley, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) north of Pensacola.

Coastal areas pounded by the storm are still recovering from the devastation wrought by Ivan, and some residents had just moved back into their hurricane-damaged homes when they were told to head to safety yet again.

Many of the structures damaged last year were still being repaired after being weakened when Ivan, also a category-three storm, struck 10 months ago, killing at least 30 people.

Oil rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated ahead of the storm, and several airports in the threatened area were closed.

In Cuba, President Fidel Castro said the hurricane had killed 10 people and temporarily displaced another 1.5 million as it crossed the island.

In Haiti, Dennis left at least five people dead, 20 injured and 30 listed as missing, and caused 8,000 people to flee their homes.

In Jamaica, a man reportedly died when he was washed away in flood waters.

When the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, its outer bands raged over southern Florida, where one person was reported killed by a downed power line in Fort Lauderdale.

NASA has also been keeping a close eye on the weather system, but said Dennis could actually clear away inclement weather ahead of Wednesday's planned liftoff of Discovery, the first space shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster grounded flights in February 2003.

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