Hurricane Katrina smashed into the United States Gulf Coast near New Orleans on Monday, trapping hundreds of people in their flooded homes and leaving a trail of devastation across the southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The hurricane killed at least 54 people in Mississippi, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Hurricane Katrina pounded vulnerable New Orleans with howling winds on Monday, damaging the roof of the Superdome stadium where thousands had sought refuge, knocking out power, flooding streets and threatening a wide swath of the United States Gulf Coast.

Fear ripped through the largest emergency shelter in New Orleans on Monday as rain from Hurricane Katrina seeped through the roof of the Superdome sports arena. ”The Superdome management assured us this would be the safest place in New Orleans,” a clearly shaken reporter told a local radio station.

Hurricane Katrina claimed its first victims in Louisiana early on Monday as it dumped torrential rain on the southern state and other parts of the United States Gulf of Mexico coast, threatening death and massive destruction. Although slightly weaker, the monster storm forced tens of thousands of New Orleans residents to flee the city.