Hurricane Dorian downgraded to Category 4 as it heads towards Florida

Hurricane Dorian has been downgraded to Category 4 on Monday but is still very powerful and is likely to move "dangerously close" to Florida's east coast, U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Earlier in the day, Dorian battered the Bahamas on Monday, peeling off roofs and snapping power lines as rising floodwaters threatened to engulf houses.

The maximum sustained winds of Hurricane Dorian were recorded at 155 mph, resulting in its downgrading as Category 5 hurricanes start at 156 mph on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale.

The hurricane will move dangerously close to Florida's east coast tonight through Wednesday evening, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said in an advisory. Orders to evacuate over a million people along the US coast have been issued by the authorities.

NHC added that Dorian will continue to bring catastrophic winds and storm surges as it moves over Grand Bahama Island.

Earlier in the day, the Bahamas Press reported on Twitter that a 7-year-old boy had drowned in the northern Bahamas, becoming the first recorded fatality of Dorian.

Live location of Hurricane Dorian can be tracked in the widget below.