TRENTON – He’s hoping for a washout and the resumption of sunny summer skies but for today, Gov. Phil Murphy is advising everyone to stay indoors, to notify power company providers of any losses in electric and to keep monitoring the fast-moving Tropical Storm Isaias.
Murphy said earlier this morning that “according to the forecasters this is a fairly fast-moving system and should be way out of our neighborhood by later tonight and into tomorrow.”
“The coming days should give us a chance to dry out. I think the general sense is that the rain picking up across the state is a phenomenon that will have the most intensity into the early evening tonight,” the governor added.
Murphy said members of various state departments have been preparing for the storm and that “since yesterday multiple state departments plus the Board of Public Utilities, State Police, and the Office of Emergency Management have all been engaged.”
He said given the expected winds don’t be surprised if you experience a power outage. He noted they are expected throughout the state.
“I spoke yesterday to the heads of the three biggest providers and have been in touch with them constantly and on Sunday as well and depending on the scenario you could have outages measured in the hundreds of thousands,” Gov. Murphy said.
The BPU has been monitoring the electric providers to make sure they can respond quickly to any storm related outages. “As a reminder if you do experience a power outage please call it in immediately to your electric service provider as these calls can help them isolate where these outages may be so that they can better direct crews to restore the power,” Murphy added.
“Don’t assume your neighbor will call it in. Call it in yourself. While everyone should just stay in today, should you have to go out and come across a downed power line, please immediately report it to emergency services. Don’t try to drive over it. Don’t go near it get as far away from it as possible,” the governor noted adding that there had been two fatalities involving “those who did not take that advice.”
He added that the Department of Transportation is working to make sure that service stations on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway were at capacity with available fuel. “They are making sure that they are ready to go and roads are clear for first responders including drainage problem spots along our highways so they don’t flood our highways and create an even greater hazard.”
“If you have to be out on our roads and come across a flooded section do not attempt to cross it. Turn around, especially with the flash flooding. Flash floods may have currents swift enough to wash a car into them and we have seen that as well during our time in office,” Gov. Murphy added.
He noted updates by the NJOEM would be made periodically, “ready.nj.gov and other social media channels on Facebook at Ready New Jersey and on Twitter and Instagram each at readynj.”
Gov. Murphy said, “we will continue to closely monitor this storm throughout the day as it makes its way across New Jersey and we will come to you with additional announcements should they become necessary. Hopefully this will all be a washout and tomorrow we will be back to summer sun but in the mean time we hope for the best and prepare for the worst and please folks stay in and stay safe.”
