Christie: Downgraded Irene Still Dangerous

While Hurricane Irene has downgraded to a Category 1 storm, Gov. Chris Christie said in his 2 p.m. preparedness briefing that decreasing wind speeds by 10-15 mph "will make little difference to the folks here in New Jersey."

So far, more than 90 percent of the residents in Cape May and Atlantic counties have been evacuated. The concern as of this afternoon is Atlantic City—mostly senior citizens in high-rise buildings who opted not to leave.

Christie said the New Jersey State Police and New Jersey Transit are sending additional buses to accelerate and complete the evacuation process, and to try to convince residents to leave before it’s too late for state assistance.

"I can't make you leave your home and I am certainly not going to place you under arrest to make you leave," Christie said. "Let us take you downstairs to one of these buses. … If you stay where you are now, you are placing yourself in greater danger."

Christie said he began communicating with elected officials at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and will continue to host briefings, mostly likely not until Sunday, unless conditions deteriorate.

"We need continued help to do this," Christie said. "I'm confident if people in the state continue to respond, almost certainly we will suffer significant property and infrastructure losses. If we can minimize the loss of life, New Jersey will get through this just fine."

Christie said that residents should expect to lose power for a "relatively significant period of time," and recommended having five days of food on hand.