Wednesday, September 21 2005 19:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Key West, Florida: Hurricane Rita grew into a Category 4 storm today (Sept 21, 2005), as forecasters said its winds have reached 217 kph as its churns toward landfall later this week on the Gulf Coast.

Mandatory evacuations have already been ordered for New Orleans and Galveston, Texas, one day after Rita skirted past the Florida Keys as a Category 2 storm, causing minimal damage.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff urged residents to heed calls for evacuation today.

"The lesson is that when the storm hits, the best place to be is to be out of the path of the storm," he told ABC's 'Good Morning America.' "There's plenty of (advance) notice about Rita."

Acting FEMA Director R David Paulison said the agency has aircraft and buses available to evacuate residents of areas the hurricane might hit. Rescue teams and truckloads of ice, water and prepared meals were being sent to Texas and Florida.

Stung by criticism of the Government's slow initial response to Hurricane Katrina, President George W Bush signed an emergency declaration for Florida and spoke with Texas Governor Rick Perry about planning for the storm's landfall.

Some 130,000 people were evacuated in Cuba, on the southern side of the Florida Straits.

The storm churned up roiling waves and soaked the northern coast as it made its way past Havana.