FEMA administrator gives last minute hurricane tips, warns against power outages

(CBS News) As the threat of Hurricane Sandy loomed on Sunday, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate met with President Obama. On Monday, Fugate joined "CBS This Morning" to relay last minute evacuation orders and hurricane safety tips.

Fugate said his primary concern Monday morning was the people in the evacuation areas and he asked that people "heed the evacuation orders and stay off the road and out of this weather that comes in."

He added that in previous storms, including Hurricane Irene in 2011, "we've seen a lot of people unfortunately get injured and even losing lives going out during storms when they don't need to be out there."

He stressed that those who have been asked to evacuate should do so swiftly and said that "if you haven't gotten ready, your window is pretty much closing along the coast. There's time inland."

Aside from the strong winds and rough weather, Fugate is concerned about "power outages over a large area" due to the "slow moving storm" and the fact that "crews can't go back to work until the winds come down." "It may still be days," Fugate added.

Lastly, Fugate urged the up to 50 million people living in areas potentially impacted by the storm to get "a battery powered radio or a hand cranked radio" for reliable access to local news and weather updates in the event of power, Internet, and cell tower outages.