As New Jersey Preps For Storms, Residents Concerned With Getting Around
UNION COUNTY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- As New Jersey prepares for a torrential Hurricane Joaquin hitting the Tri-State, many in the state are worried about getting around in the air and on the ground.
As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, railways, airports and drivers are preparing ahead of the storm.
"You never know what can happen," said one woman at a gas station.
Motorists remember the long lines at gas stations following the wrath of Superstorm Sandy just three years ago.
Now, the state has given funds to some gas stations in order to keep the power on during storms. It's just one plan in place as resident brace for a lot of rain.
Nearly half of the 140 gas stations that applied for the program funding received it, Sloan reported. But a gasoline organization said that wasn't the issue during Sandy.
"The reason for the gas lines was because gasoline could not be delivered to the gas stations," said Sal Risvalto.
Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency on Thursday. Christie canceled his presidential campaign, putting hundreds of emergency workers on standby.
"Now is the time for you to begin to prepare for hunkering down and dealing with the storm," said Christie.
NJ TRANSIT, which saw some train under water during Sandy, is keeping a close eye in an effort to minimize service disruptions.
Most airlines aren't saying yet whether they will relax fees for changing flights.
"We are a little bit scared about the hurricane because we're going home on Monday, so we're probably going to stay here some more days" said one woman visiting from Norway.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it just completed a new draining project at Newark Liberty International Airport to help alleviate flooding at taxiways and runways.