Conn. governor: Tides are ‘biggest worry’

>> morning.

>> good to be here, matt.

>> you said this could be the biggest threat to face people in years.

>> the tides will affect western long island so that portion from new haven down to the new york border could experience tides this afternoon at about what the perfect storm was. tonight's tide during the nighttime hours could be twice that, and that's our biggest worry. if that happens, it really is catastrophic. the amount of damage and loss of property is going to be extreme. we've been talking about it for days. we've prepared. we have people in the right places. we have equipment in the right places, but really we're waiting to see what mother nature throws at us, but let's be very clear. this storm is staying on script, and that script brings us to the worst result we could possibly have imagined.

>> and as a result of that, and mandatory evacuations and suggested evacuations, how much people in your state do you think have been dispolice e ed at the moment.

>> this is a category 4 , the highest category emergency that we would consider along the shore. 360,000 people have been urged to leave their homes. that's the number that we're talking about. so put it this way, that's about one-tenth of our entire population, but let's be very clear. you're talking about new haven. you're talking about bridgeport. you're talking about stamford, three of our largest and most important cities with neighborhoods spread throughout every one of the towns that we're talking about. 30 towns have ordered evacuations. it's an extraordinary effort that's under way, and it -- it's different than anything we've ever done. people in connecticut are used to a hurricane being a 6 to 12-hour event. this is a 36-hour event affecting at least four high tides. the first one was last night, not bad, but we needed to get people understanding that each one will get progressively worse. this afternoon's which will be bad, and tonight's which could be catastrophic, that's our big worry. that's why we've urged people to leave as soon as possible.

>> right.

>> yesterday and today, if they are there. tonight could just be the worst.

>> a house keeping note. your state's only nuclear power plant , the millstone plant up in waterford, connecticut , any plans to shut that down?

>> as of last night it had been taken down about 75% of capacity. they will make decisions later today . it's not going to be affected by wind, and it's not going to be affected by tides. it's built pretty high. what they are worried about stuff in the water.

>> right.

>> so if houses get swept in or other things get swept in, that could threaten. if that happens they will take it down.

>> as katy mentioned, we saw massive power outages in the state of connecticut from irene. do you have crews standing by and for people who do lose power over the next 48 hours or so, governor, how long do you think they will be without power?

>> if it's in response to flooding, they are going to be out for a long period of time. if we lose the nine substations that are in tidal affected areas potentially, then this is going to be a long-term event. if we can avoid those being overcome by waves or water, then recovery will be more rapid. so really we're talking about days one way or the other. we could be talking about weeks.

>> connecticut 's governor dannell malloy . know you're busy this morning. thank you for taking the time to talking with us. appreciate it.

>> thank you.