UPDATE 8-Hurricane Felix kills four in Central America

(Adds four dead, details)

By Jimmy Sanchez

PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Hurricane Felix ripped into Central America on Tuesday, trashing a port on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, killing at least four people and threatening deadly mudslides in Honduras and Guatemala.

The storm, which hit land as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, ravaged Puerto Cabezas in northern Nicaragua, where howling winds tore the roofs off homes and shelters and damaged a church.

"My house felt like it was moving with the wind," resident Julio Mena said. Street lights and phone cables lay on the ground.

Uprooted trees flew through the air as thousands sheltered in two schools in the port, home to some 30,000 mostly Miskito Indians. Four people died in the town and surrounding coastal area, including a young girl.

Felix stoked fears throughout Central America of a repeat of Hurricane Mitch, which killed about 10,000 people across the region in 1998 in floods and mudslides.

"There could be serious damage and material, like human, losses, if people do not take precautionary measures," warned Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

Felix came hard on the heels of another Category 5 storm, the most powerful type. Last month, Hurricane Dean killed 27 people in the Caribbean and Mexico.