Dangerous Surf Takes Life of 17 Year Old from Hometown of GWC and Hurricaneville

On Thursday, GWC and Hurricaneville reported on the dangerous surf that had been affecting both the East and West coasts of the United States. Hurricane Marie was responsible for historic wave heights off Southern California while Hurricane Cristobal, which strengthened a bit on Thursday, generated dangerous surf and rip currents along the East Coast from Florida to New England. As of Thursday morning, the tremendous wave action from these two storms had combined to claim the lives of three people.

One of those lives was of a South Plainfield resident, 17 year old, Sarmad Rizvi, who was a week away from beginning his senior year at South Plainfield High School. According to an article on MyCentralJersey.com, Rizvi, a wrestler in the powerhouse wrestling program at SPHS, was initially knocked down by a wave, and then taken under by a powerful rip current, all courtesy of Hurricane Cristobal, which was swirling hundreds of miles offshore northwest of Bermuda at the time on Tuesday.

Rizvi, was a member of the South Plainfield HS wrestling team that was 22-6 overall last year. He saw limited action and was 1-0. His death was the first by drowning at Sandy Hook this year. Another death attributed to Hurricane Cristobal was down in Ocean City, Maryland where an 18 year old young man from Virginia drowned in the inlet there. Up and down the East Coast, there have also been numerous rescues by lifeguards on duty coming to the assistance of those testing the bounds of mother natures extremes. Over in Southern California beaches, at least 130 rescues were done by lifeguards as of Thursday morning thanks to 25 foot waves created by what was once Category Five Hurricane Marie.

Cristobal has been responsible for five other deaths including one in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Southeastern Bahamas, two in the Dominican Republic, and two in Haiti. The storm is now post-tropical in the Northern Atlantic to the Southeast of Newfoundland in the Canadian Maritimes. Post-tropical storm Cristobal still has winds of 85 miles per hour, and a minimum central pressure of 970 millibars, or 28.64 inches of Hg (Mercury). The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly indicates that there is still a moderate risk of rip currents along the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches even though what is left of Cristobal is pulling away.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service office in Upton, New York has issued a Special Rip Current Statement indicating that the risk of rip currents is still high with surf heights still around 4 feet along Atlantic facing beaches on Long Island. Remember, if you are caught in a rip current, don’t panic and swim parallel to the shore. Better yet, play it safe and stay out of the water until conditions ease up completely.