WRAPUP 7-Hurricane Ike targets Gulf as Hanna hits Carolinas

* Haiti death toll from Hanna rises to 529

* Hanna nears U.S. shore as tropical storm

* Florida, Bahamas prepare for Ike

* Josephine weakens into a tropical depression

By Gene Cherry

SALVO, N.C., Sept 5 (Reuters) - Fierce Hurricane Ike weakened as it charged across the Atlantic on Friday and took aim at south Florida and the oil fields of the Gulf of Mexico, while Tropical Storm Hanna buffeted the Carolinas after killing at least 529 people in Haiti.

Hanna was expected to be just short of Category 1 hurricane strength when it crosses the U.S. East Coast near the North Carolina and South Carolina border early on Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Nevertheless, authorities declared states of emergency, several North Carolina beach communities were under evacuation orders, campgrounds were shut and storm alerts were issued from Georgia to New Jersey, including for Washington, D.C., as the eighth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season threatened the East Coast with flash flooding.

Ike was far more threatening.