PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — "We want folks to take those warnings very seriously."
With Tropical Storm Elsa approaching our region, officials like New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy are using warnings, like those words he said live on KYW Newsradio, to urge the public to take the storm very seriously, and prepare now.
Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean, southeastern Burlington counties and the coastal waters and lower Delaware Bay are all under a Tropical Storm Warning. Winds on the shore could gust up to 50 miles per hour, carrying a large amount of rain.
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Murphy told KYW Newsradio's Michelle Durham that people in affected areas should be ready for flooding and power outages, especially at the shore.
“If you lose your power, don’t assume that somebody calls it in. Call it in yourself," Murphy said.
"Pre-charge the stuff that you need, and most importantly if you see a downed powerline, please God, don’t go near it. Stay away from it and call that in.”
Officials are urging those along the New Jersey coast to move vehicles to higher ground now through Saturday afternoon.
In Atlantic City, the Wave Garage at Mississippi and Fairmount is offering free parking to residents and visitors during this time.
Murphy cited weather experts telling him that inland areas will also get some of the storm, but not as powerful of a dose of it.
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"I think Elsa will bring rain and wind inland in New Jersey. It just won't be at the same level that it will be on the shore," Murphy said.
"Our team tells me the speed of the storm has picked up. It's gone a little bit east."
Murphy said utility crews have been busy this week with storm issues that have not been related to Elsa.
"We've already had outages, and we're trying to get out ahead of that as best we can," he said.
"We've got 2,000 line personnel ready, positioned to go, expecting that we're going to have outages."