For many, Gustav's misery continued Tuesday, with some areas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast — still trying to rebuild from Katrina three years ago — isolated by flood waters. Thousands were still without electricity.

Bands of rain and strong winds, some packing storms capable of producing tornadoes, covered a broad swath of Mississippi on Tuesday morning, stretching from the coast through Jackson and up into the Delta. Sirens could be heard in areas around Jackson and numerous tornado warnings were issued.

Along the line of the storm, several truck stops have closed, according to the NATSO, which represents trucks stops nationwide. To access a partial list of truck stops impacted by Gustav, click here.

Police in Natchez said much of the Mississippi River town was still without power Tuesday morning after Gustav hammered the area with powerful winds that knocked down trees and power lines.

At least 20 people were rescued from flood waters, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. There were no reports of injuries but MEMA said at least one traffic death was blamed on the storm.

As Monday's storm pushed across the coast, rescuers took to boats in areas of Hancock County that were effectively cut off when major roads and highways were inundated with water.

Gustav was downgraded to a tropical depression early Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm's maximum sustained winds had decreased to near 35 mph. The storm's center was located about 135 miles northwest of Lafayette and was moving northwest at about 10 mph.

"We said we were going to pray for the best and prepare for the worst. We almost got what we prayed for," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said at an afternoon briefing on Monday.

Still, Barbour urged residents not to return to their homes until Wednesday, warning that receding flood waters could pose hidden dangers.

Barbour intended to tour the coast Tuesday.

Emergency officials said that despite the flooding, several people refused to be taken from their homes by boat.

"We rescued four people and we had a lot of refusals," said 1st Lt. Andy Thaggard, a Mississippi National Guard spokesman.

County rescuers were headed back to flooded areas Tuesday, said Tim Kellar, a spokesman for Hancock County. Kellar said wind damage was minimal, but the storm surge rolled in at high tide, which caused extensive flooding of homes.

In Bay St. Louis, pounding waves washed out a bluff, leaving gaping holes in a beach road.

Kellar said officials were still assessing damage and were hopeful fewer than 500 homes had been flooded.

Thousands of soldiers, state troopers and local police were keeping watch on evacuees' homes and property, the governor said. He warned that many roads are covered by storm waters and, once that water drains, there could be weak spots that would trigger accidents.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, who was on the coast Monday, said lessons learned during Katrina were put to use, calling the coordination between state and federal agencies and the National Guard "seamless."

"I feel really good about where we're at. It could have been so much worse," Bryant said.

Greg Flynn of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said the National Hurricane Center recorded the storm surge at Waveland, on the Louisiana side of the state, at 11 feet. The storm surge at Pascagoula, in Jackson County on the eastern side of the state, was 6 1/2 feet.

A fatal auto accident in Pike County, in southwest Mississippi, was being listed as a storm death. Flynn had no details on the wreck.

The main road into southern Hancock County, Mississippi Highway 43, was closed due to flooding but was reopened Monday night. In Harrison County, white caps topped a sea wall and swamped coastal U.S. Highway 90 with murky, debris-filled water.

U.S. 90 in Harrison County remained closed early Tuesday, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The Natchez Trace between Jackson and Natchez also was closed.

Wind gusts were recorded at well over 50 mph. An abandoned building in Gulfport collapsed and there were a few flooded homes in Biloxi.

A white sailboat, the "Wind Song," was left grounded in the middle of sand-covered U.S. 90 along Biloxi's casino row. The boat had a hole in the side. Debris blew elsewhere along the highway.

The ground floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi was flooded and wind-whipped water continued to splash into its parking garage Monday afternoon. Hurricane Katrina smashed the casino three years ago shortly before it was to open.

Bobby Tuber, the casino's facility-grounds manager, said the storm put about 30 inches of water in the building but the casino itself, located on an upper level, was not damaged.

"We're fine. We'll come out all well," Tuber said as he and others used a pump and a large hose to remove the water.

Flynn said 100 homes flooded in Pearlington, a town near the Louisiana border that was entirely submerged during Katrina because it was so close to the Gulf of Mexico and the river. Every building flooded and the community had an estimated average storm surge height of about 19 feet.

As many as 64,000 homes were without power at one point during Gustav. Officials said the number has dropped to less than 15,000 in the six coastal counties by Tuesday morning. On Monday, more than 14,250 people were living in shelters in Mississippi, including 3,134 in the state's six southernmost counties, officials said.