“I thank the president for his telephone call and inquiring about how things are going here and I assured him that things were going well so far. He advised me to call him at any time that things were not going well,” he said at a fire house backed with emergency personnel, residents and press.
The conference call brought together governors from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts as well as a few mayors, Christie said.
“I appreciated the president’s outreach today in making sure that we know he’s watching this and is concerned about the health and welfare and safety of the people of the state of New Jersey,” he said.
Christie closed state offices for Monday and urged schools to follow suit, though he stopped short of shuttering private businesses. Even as he and key cabinet officials detailed everything they’re doing to prepare for the storm, the governor cautioned residents to not panic.
“I want everybody to remain calm,” he said. “You have time to prepare yourself. If you’re already prepared, go home and watch the Jets, relax. Watch the Giants at 4 o’clock if that’s your taste. Take a deep breath…There tends to be a great amount of anxiety about this and I don’t blame you, but I also don’t want people paralyzed by fear either.”
The administration will update the media at least every four hours, he said.
Christie also issued a strong rebuke for residents of barrier islands who insist on riding out the storm at home, rather than abiding by the mandatory evacuation order.
“Staying on the barrier islands for 36 hours of hurricane force winds of 75 miles per hour sustained, not gusting, is stupid,” he said. “And, you know, I think all our mothers taught us, if you can avoid it, don’t be stupid. Get out and get to higher, safer ground.”
Though the impact of Hurricane Irene was less than anticipated along the shore, Christie said that’s no reason to doubt the severity of Sandy.
“If I turn out to be right and you turn out to be dead, that’s not a great equation,” he said.