'If you don't have to go to work tomorrow, don't go to work tomorrow," Gov. Chris Christie warns Watch video
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It will be several days and several billion dollars before New Jersey recovers from the wind, rain, record flooding and power outages wrought by Irene, Gov. Chris Christie said.
Speaking to reporters after surveying the hurricane's damage from a State Police helicopter, Christie said it would be five days before power was fully restored to the 775,000 homes that were still without it.
But utilities said crews were working overtime, some borrowed from other companies, to restore power. And even the outage figure cited by the governor was down from the 880,000 customers that utilities said were without power earlier in the day.
Those able to stay home from work today should do just that, Christie said, noting that all NJ Transit commuter trains would be canceled except for those on the Atlantic City Line. The agency's buses and light rail trains would be operating, but on a limited schedule.
"If you don't have to go to work tomorrow, don't go to work tomorrow," Christie told reporters during a briefing at about 8 p.m. Sunday. "Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day to travel around the State of New Jersey."
The same advice does not go for state employees, however. Christie said he is keeping the state government open in the wake of the storm.
For New York-bound commuters hoping to drive in to work, all bridges and tunnels operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are open.
But Christie said motorists should be bear in mind that some 300 roads across the state have had full or partial closures, including Interstates 80 and 280. And while the Garden State Parkway has reopened south of Exit 98, there are detours from there to Exit 91.
PATH trains are scheduled to resume today at 4 a.m.
Across the Hudson, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City Subway service would resume at 6 a.m. today.
The Port Authority said Newark Liberty and John F. Kennedy International airports will open to arriving flights at 6 a.m. today, with departures set to resume at noon. LaGuardia will reopen to both arrivals and departures at 7 a.m. The monorail at JFK should reopen at 4 a.m., while Newark's monorail is scheduled to resume service 6 a.m. Travelers are advised to check with their airlines on delays or cancellations.
Newark's biggest carrier, Continental Airlines, said it was preparing to resume departures at noon, at Newark and JFK and LaGuardia.
Christie told reporters it was too early to estimate a dollar value of the damage from the storm. But, he added, "It's going to be in the billions of dollars."
The governor reeled off a list of flooded rivers, including the Delaware, Raritan, Passaic, Ramapo, Pequannock and others, and said officials were expecting record flooding in several locations. He urged residents to beware of flash flooding, which he said was responsible for the death of a 20-year-old woman in Salem County.
As many as four deaths have been attributed to the hurricane, including the Salem County woman.
Authorities said a 39-year-old Wanaque man died after falling into a fast-moving stream while going for a walk with friends today as the storm was pulling away, according to a report on NorthJersey.com. A 74-year-old Edison man died of a heart attack in a flooded basement, and a Kearny man was reported drowned in Hudson County.
However, Christie said only the Salem County woman's death had been confirmed as related to the storm.
"The hurricane's over," Christie pronounced. But, he added, "Please don't think that this crisis is over just because the storm has passed."
"If you're unsure, then leave your home for a safer place," he said.
Christie said residents with questions should call 211.
Many residents who had spent Saturday night in shelters, hotels, or with friends and family were returning home Sunday, after 1 million residents had been evacuated in anticipation of the storm, which hit the Jersey Shore with less force than anticipated.
And while Christie acknowledged that the state had "dodged a bullet" due to Irene's milder-than-expected impact, he dismissed a suggestion that he may have overreacted and refused to be second-guessed about his decision to evacuate much of the shore.
"The fact is, by evacuating one million people off the Jersey Shore, we saved lives," he said.
While the winds from Hurricane Irene seemed to ease slightly from Saturday into Sunday, the rain appeared to worsen as it moved up the state and farther inland, before finally letting up as the morning wore on. By Sunday afternoon, 15 communities had received at least four inches of rainfall for the day, many in the state's northern reaches, led by Netcong, with 4.95 inches, Stewartsville, with 4.9 and High Point, with 4.86. On Saturday, 11 towns got four inches or more, led by Sea Girt with 4.84 inches, East Hampton, with 4.63 and Upper Deerfield, with 4.62.
In Morris County, officials said evacuations were underway for as many as 500 homes in Parsippany, after surging waters from the Rockaway River breached a flood wall along River Road at about 7 p.m. The county public safety director, Scott Digirolamo, said rescue crews were working with Picatinny Arsenal's "high clearance vehicles" to remove people from the area.
In Middlesex County, the Raritan River had flooded its banks clear up and over Route 18. The City of New Brunswick had planned to commemorate the 75 county residents who died on 9/11 on its 10th anniversary next month at the Rutgers University Boathouse along the Raritan. But Sunday afternoon the boathouse and surrounding Boyd Park were underwater.
Winds began to taper on Sunday, with the highest gusts recorded in Point Pleasant and Harvey Cedars, at 65 miles an hour. Harvey Cedars had the high of 69 miles and hour on Saturday.
In Long Branch, a tornado appears to have touched down in the area of Ocean Boulevard, where the roof of an apartment complex was sheered off, and several cars and other buildings were badly damaged.
• More Hurricane Irene coverage
• Hurricane Irene rainfall map: Rain totals for towns across N.J.