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N.J. Gov. To Senior Citizens: Please Get On The Buses And Leave

"I can't make you ... I'm not going to arrest you."

But please, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) just told 600 senior citizens who live in Atlantic City: Let the state evacuate you before Hurricane Irene slams into the high-rise buildings where you live.

The residents have so far refused to leave.

Christie said the state is going to send buses to the seniors' buildings in the hopes they can be convinced to go to inland shelters.

"Let us walk you downstairs and put you on those buses," he added.

Of considerable concern: Irene will cause power outages, break windows in the seniors' buildings and leave them stranded with no way to get help.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.