Christie: Help is on the Way for Flood Victims [VIDEO]

Gov. Chris Christie pledged to the residents of Lincoln Park—and Morris County—that he would urge his colleagues in the New Jersey State Legislature and Congress to put aside offsetting budget cuts and act quickly in funding repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

"We don’t have time to wait for folks in Congress to figure out how they want to offset this stuff with the budget cuts. Our people are suffering now. And they need support now," he said.

Christie came to Lincoln Park on Wednesday afternoon with what he called "good news," as he told residents, firefighters, police officers and others that the height of the rivers that have flooded municipalities across the county has gone down.

"All the rivers in New Jersey have crested and are beginning to recede. The Passaic River at Pine Brook and at Little Falls may remain above major flood stage until Friday morning, though, so we're clearly not out of the woods yet," he said.

"This has been a record flood, and in Lincoln Park, the community was impacted by the crest of the Pompton, the Pequannock and the Passaic Rivers' crests Monday afternoon. Just like in Paterson, the flood is similar to a 100-year flood."

Christie was joined by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-8), U.S. Rep Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate in front of the Lincoln Park Fire Department Co. 1 on Chapel Hill Road.

The governor said about 1,000 Morris County residents have been evacuated from their homes and about 40 percent of Lincoln Park residents have water in their homes.

"More than 350 homes in town that typically get water in driveways during past flood events have more than 18 inches of water inside their homes from the storm," Christie said.

Despite the damage, the governor said Morris County was able to come together to help not only the residents who live within county borders, but other New Jersey counties as well. Christie said about 600 Atlantic County residents were sheltered in the, in Morris Township.

"It was because of the giving, generous nature of the people of Morris County and its government that you were able to take care of your neighbors in Atlantic County," he said.

Christie thanked President Barack Obama and said he spoke with him on the phone after the storm.

"He is personally concerned about what is happening in our state," Christie said.

Obama will come to New Jersey on Sunday when he visits flood-ravaged Paterson.

In her remarks, Napolitano also said the president is "very concerned about the state of New Jersey." She said there are three parts to the storm event, the first two being preparation and response.

"Now we're in Part 3—that's recovery. That's the hardest part," she said.

Napolitano said she would do all that she can to ensure that the people of Morris County are provided the relief they need.

Fugate said it's common for people to try to compare one natural disaster to another. But for those most affected, the damage from the storm is unparalleled.

"This is your disaster. It's your town, it's your neighbors, its your community," he said.

Fugate promised that FEMA would also be examining ways they can quickly provide relief to the people whose homes were damaged in the storm.

"The one thing I will tell you, that we are gonna fight like hell against those who wanna cut back on FEMA's funding," Lautenberg said. "We can't do this without lots of money."

Lautenberg thanked the governor for his efforts so far in leading response efforts.

After the press event, some attendees grew angry that the governor would not answer residents' questions.

"Why don't you answer a few of our questions? We need answers, too," Lincoln Park resident Valrie Simpson said. "Coming in March we are going to be flooded again, who is going to help us?"

Simpson said if given the chance, she would have asked Christie what will be done in the future about the dam in Oakland and the Passaic River flooding.

"This is so devastatin," she said. "I'm so upset with Gov. Christie right now."