Hermine Creates Dangerous Rip Currents, Storm Surges In Northeast

Hermine threatens several states with rough surf and dangerous flooding as millions celebrate the Labor Day holiday.

The former tropical storm is slowly moving out to sea, but it’s creating dangerous rip currents and storm surges. Tropical storm watches stretch from New Jersey to Massachusetts.

The storm has already been blamed for at least two deaths. It has battered several southern states on its way up the coast.

Along the Jersey shore overnight, Hermine whipped up strong waves, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan. At sea, the rough waters rocked a Royal Caribbeancruise ship headed from New Jersey to Bermuda.

“When you see the crew on the cruise ship starting to get dizzy and sick, then you know it’s gotten pretty bad,” Anthem of the Seas passenger Derek Biedermann said. 

He is one of around 6,000 people onboard the ship during the storm. 

“It got pretty wicked somewhere around maybe 1 a.m. The whole boat started rocking, people started getting sick, they started distributing vomit bags around,” Biedermann said. “It’s been a pretty interesting adventure ever since.”

The deadly storm made landfall last Friday as a Category 1 hurricane. It’s already hammered coastal areas stretching from Florida to Virginia, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands and causing widespread damage. 

It’s now targeting the eastern seaboard from Maryland to Massachusetts.

Gov. Chris Christie said Hermine won’t come close to having the same destructive power as Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Still, he’s urging everyone not to take any chances.

“Rip currents are going to get fairly aggressive. … We don’t want to see people have injuries or loss of life because of going into the ocean in dangerous conditions,” Christie said. 

Hermine may regain hurricane strength, but the worst of the storm is pretty much over and continues to move off shore.