Hurricane Katrina gained power over warm Gulf waters and revved up for a second and potentially more deadly assault on the U.S. coast after a slow and punishing trek across southern Florida that killed seven people, Reuters reported. By 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) on Saturday, the hurricane was 165 miles (265 km) west of Key West at the tip of the Florida Keys, with winds near 115 mph (185 kph). The storm was expected to swing gradually northwards on a course that could see it come ashore anywhere between the storm-scarred Florida Panhandle and the Louisiana coast west of the low-lying and vulnerable city of New Orleans, with U.S. oil and gas rigs potentially in its path. Some projections foresaw it becoming a Category 4 storm on the five step Saffir-Simpson scale by late Sunday or early Monday -- a potentially catastrophic hurricane with 131 mph-plus (210 kph-plus) winds capable of causing widespread damage, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said residents in the Florida Panhandle would be ready, even as many of them had not yet been able to fully repair their homes after being struck by Hurricane Dennis last month or Hurricane Ivan last September. Katrina's torturous path across the Miami area after coming ashore late Thursday just south of Fort Lauderdale was a timely reminder for Florida residents that meteorologists have warned this hurricane season could be unusually active. --more 1430 Local Time 1130 GMT
