U.S. forecasters say that what is left of Tropical Storm Emily is moving harmlessly out to sea after soaking Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami has downgraded Emily to a tropical depression, saying it no longer poses a danger to land.

Emily never developed into a hurricane. But it still was powerful enough to bring floods to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, killing at least four people and forcing thousands to flee their homes. Puerto Rico and the Bahamas also were pounded.

Emily was the fifth named storm of the 2011 hurricane season, which lasts through November.