By Carol Bareuther

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (Reuters) - Hurricane Lenny kept pounding northeastern Caribbean islands on Friday with heavy rains and surf but was losing strength as it prowled near Antigua.

The unusual west-to-east moving storm caused at least four deaths and left a path of destruction during its three-day trek, churning up waves that smashed boats, washed away roads, scattered debris, tore at hotels and slid homes into the sea.

``It is difficult to see which way the wind is blowing from. It seems to come from all directions at the same time... The wind is blasting through our house and shrieking through the shutters,'' a resident of the British island of Anguilla said in an electronic mail communication on Friday.

Lenny's sustained winds slowed to 75 mph (125 kph), just barely above the 74 mph (118 kph) hurricane threshold. But its torrential 10- to 15-inch (25 cm to 38 cm) rains were unrelenting, triggering floods and mudslides in mountainous areas.

``There's just tons and tons of water,'' a telephone operator in Anguilla said.

At 1 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), Lenny's poorly defined center was between St. Kitts and Antigua, near latitude 17.5 north, longitude 62.5 west, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The hurricane was moving erratically, but was expected to track east-northeast near 3 mph (6 kph) on Friday and weaken to a tropical storm.

One man died on St. Maarten and another was missing on St. Kitts. A man died in San Juan when he fell off a ladder while securing his television antenna. Two fishermen were reported drowned as far south as Colombia's Caribbean coast.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man on Friday who rode out Lenny's intense winds and raging seas off the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix in a life raft.

``It's incredible. Going right through the eye of the storm in 120 mph (193 kph) winds, with gusts pushing to 150 mph (241 kph),'' a Coast Guard spokesman said.

Rescuers still searched for two men last heard from on Wednesday when they abandoned their sailboat in a life raft off St. Croix, which took a direct hit from Lenny.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for the northeast Caribbean islands of Dutch St. Maarten, French St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Severe damage was reported in St. Maarten, where the storm sat most of Thursday.

Lenny was a weak Category One hurricane on forecasters' five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. But it had bordered on potentially catastrophic Category Five status on Wednesday when it headed directly into St. Croix.

Virgin Islands Gov. Charles Turnbull said St. Thomas and St. John were ``in relatively good shape.''

But St. Croix was battered by a 15-foot (5-meter) storm surge that smashed homes, shops, docks and restaurants.

``We lost almost the entire second floor,'' said Allen Mallory, general manager of the Divi Carina Bay Resort, which reopened two weeks ago after severe damage from 1989's Hurricane Hugo. ``There is extensive damage throughout.''

A 20-foot (6-meter) section of the cruise ship pier in Frederiksted on St. Croix's west coast was washed away, raising fears about cruise business during the winter tourist season.

Virgin Islands Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James said damage on the south side of St. Croix was ``considerable,'' with boats littering the shoreline, utility poles down, and a ballpark destroyed.

Alexander Moorhead of the giant HOVENSA refinery on St. Croix reported damage was minimal. HOVENSA is a joint venture of Amerada Hess Corp. and Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

Phones and power were out on several islands. Nevis shut off its water system, fearing contamination from flooding. Those with phone service called local radio stations to relay messages, hoping the broadcasts would reach isolated areas.

``Nina in Eustatius, your aunt in St. Maarten wants you to know she's OK,'' a Nevis broadcaster advised.

The violent seas have halted boat deliveries of food for several days, raising fears there could soon be shortages, a Nevis resident said.

In Grenada, roaring waves washed rows of homes into the sea at Charleston Harbour and in the tiny fishing town of Gouyave.

Surf washed away some 40 houses, leaving scores of people homeless in St. Lucia's tourism capital, Soufriere.

On St. Kitts, a crew member from a cargo vessel that ran aground was reported missing in the raging seas.

Lenny struck very late in the six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on Nov. 30. It is the fifth major hurricane of the season and the eighth hurricane overall.