Tropical depression douses Cuba, headed toward US

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., June 11 (Reuters) - The first tropical depression of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season was dumping heavy rain on western Cuba and could become a tropical storm as it moves toward the United States, U.S. forecasters said.

The depression, which will be given the name Alberto if its maximum sustained winds reach 39 mph (63 kph), was located around 45 miles west of Cabo San Antonio on the western tip of Cuba at 2 p.m. (2330 HRS ist).

As expected, the storm is bringing heavy rain to the Caribbean island and is the season's first wake-up call to coastal U S residents battered by eight hurricanes in the last two years, including Hurricane Katrina -- the most costly and one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

With sustained winds of 35 mph the depression's trek had slowed from 12 mph (19 kph) earlier Saturday and was moving north-northwest at 6 mph (10 kph), a factor that forecasters predict will intensify the storm as it gains strength from the relative warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters predict the storm to make a turn toward the northeast today, with an expected landfall tomorrow somewhere along Florida's central or northern Gulf Coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

In response, Florida emergency management officials put responders on heightened alert by activating the state's emergency operations center to more closely monitor the coming storm.

Tropical storms can cause deadly floods in low-lying areas and destroy ramshackle buildings in poor countries. They do not present a significant threat to developed nations.

When their maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph they become hurricanes and the possibility of death and destruction increases.

Forecasters have predicted that 2006 will see more storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic than an average season.

Last year, a record 28 tropical cyclones spawned 15 hurricanes, including monster storms like Katrina, which flooded New Orleans, killed more than 1,300 people and caused billion in damage.

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