WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tropical storm Gordon has weakened into a tropical depression over U.S. state of Mississippi as threats of heavy rains and flooding continue, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday.

The depression is located about 40 km south-southeast of Jackson, Mississippi with maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour, the NHC said.

Additional weakening is expected as Gordon moves farther inland, the agency added.

Gordon made landfall late Tuesday near the Alabama-Mississippi border with near-hurricane level winds, killing a child when a tree fell on her family's mobile home in Pensacola, Florida.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said more than 3,000 state residents were without power. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey encouraged "everyone across south AL to be weather aware and heed warnings from local authorities."

Gordon is expected to produce rain accumulations of 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) over parts of Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, southern Iowa and Illinois, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches (30cm) through early Saturday.

The rainfall will cause flash flooding across portions of these areas.