As superstorm Sandy hits the East Coast with strong winds, heavy rainfall and massive flooding, New Jersey residents are bracing for the hurricane to make its fast-approaching landfall as early as Monday evening.

A 2 p.m. briefing by the National Hurricane Center reported Hurricane Sandy’s drastic acceleration since the last briefing three hours ago, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported. The category one hurricane is now about 40 miles away from reaching land near Atlantic City by approximately 4 p.m. The briefing reported winds up to 90 mph, and hurricane-force winds as far as 175 miles from the storm’s center.

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie urged citizens, “Don’t be stupid. Get out,” after declaring a state of emergency Sunday and ordering evacuations of the barrier islands and Atlantic City.

Mass-evacuations have led thousands out of their coastal homes and into emergency shelters. Some counties have imposed mandatory curfews and issued dire warnings for residents who have not evacuated, a refusal Governor Christie called “stupid and selfish” in a briefing. Many exit routes have already been flooded.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Sandy Forces Mass Evacuations In Mid-Atlantic

Massive flooding remains the primary threat for New Jersey residents. Atlantic City officials reported Monday afternoon that 85 percent of the city was underwater.

Federal Emergency Management Administrator Craig Fugate told CBS Monday, “the biggest concern right now are the people in the evacuation areas. They're going to face the most immediate threats with the storm surge.” 

Forecasters predicted the center of the storm would hit Monday evening or early Tuesday in southern New Jersey, then make its way through Pennsylvania and into New York on Wednesday, the L.A. Times reported.

SEE ALSO: Airlines Cancel 4,700 Flights With Hurricane Sandy Looming 

Governor Christie said Monday that 35,000 residents are without power in New Jersey alone. He also said that 350 of 590 New Jersey school districts chose to close their doors Monday, with 247 already planning a shut down Tuesday as well. New Jersey’s Education Commissioner Chris Cert urged school districts to close. New Jersey and New York have both shut down mass transit.

President Obama briefed the nation Monday morning on preparations for the storm, assuring Americans that public safety remains his priority, not the election. He did attempt to offset expectations and potential backlash against the administration, warning that the response could take time.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Sandy Threatens Early Voting In Swing States

“You know, the election will take care of itself next week,” he said. “Right now, our No. 1 priority is to make sure that we’re saving lives, that our search-and-rescue teams are going to be in place, that people are going to get the food, water and shelter they need in case of emergency and that we respond as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track.”

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage of Hurricane Sandy here.

Reach Executive Producer Elizabeth Johnson here. Follow her on Twitter here.