Tropical Storm Hermine batters US East Coast through weekend

Washington: Tropical Storm Hermine on Saturday moved towards US mid-Atlantic and northeastern states after slamming US state of Florida, putting millions of people along the US East Coast under tropical storm.

According to weather forecasts, Hermine, which had turned into a hurricane-like storm with winds up to 70 mph, would arrive off the New Jersey coast late on Sunday and into Monday after causing two deaths, severe property damages from Florida to Virginia on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

So far, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had already declared a state of emergency in three coastal counties, and Governor Jack Markell of Delaware had also issued a state of emergency in one county.

"The National Weather Service is forecasting Tropical Storm Hermine will impact the entire New Jersey shoreline," said the New Jersey Governor's office in a statement, adding that Hermine was predicted to bring "tropical storm force winds, very heavy and sustained rain, as well as moderate to major coastal flooding with heavy surf and beach erosion".

As of late Friday, about 30 million people along the US East Coast were under tropical storm watches and warnings through the weekend.

According to the US National Hurricane Centre, Hermine was expected to remain a "dangerous cyclone through five days".