The papers printed that the massive rescue effort was hindered by the rough seas.
Rip currents don't show themselves.... and they flow perpendicular to the shoreline. A rip wouldn't prevent a massive rescue effort.
I used to surf a lot.
@Tano mentioned Cocoa Beach... yep there are waves that can be surfed there. That's about 200 miles north of south beach. As the state of Florida goes further south the midpoint is much further west and that makes a difference in the wave breaks. You're not finding any surf comps south of Cocoa. And for the record... even though my Mom had her 2 front teeth knocked out by a surf board on Cocoa Beach... the break sucks and is very short. The shoreline moves east until you get down to about Jupiter... then it takes a hard west inward creating a pocket almost like a lagoon. Nobody is surfing in South Beach... even on a long board.