Obama to U.S.: Listen to government officials

• Obama urges residents to take hurricane precautions
• President cuts short campaign trip
• Says government is ready to cope with the storm

President Obama urged residents to listen to government officials as Hurricane Sandy prepares to smack the northeast coast of the United States.

"When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate," Obama said in a statement at the White House. "Do not delay. Don't pause.

"Don't question the instructions that are being given, because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequence if people haven't acted quickly," Obama said.

The president said, "this is going to be a big and powerful storm," as well as "a slow-moving process through a wide swath of the country, and millions of people are going to be affected."

The center of the hurricane is expected to hit land fall "sometime this evening," Obama said.

He cited the threats of flooding, falling trees, broken transportation systems, and power outages, and said clean-up and repair could take days.

Federal, state, and local governments are ready to help with rescue and clean-up efforts, said the president, who has signed emergency declarations for states in the northeast. "I'm confident that we're ready,"Obama said.

Repeatedly stressing the threat of the storm, Obama said: "We set aside whatever issues we may have otherwise to make sure that we respond appropriately and with swiftness. And that's exactly what I anticipate is going to happen here."

Responding to reporters, Obama said he doesn't yet think Hurricane Sandy poses a threat to Election Day.

Said Obama: "The election will take care of itself next week. Right now, our number-one priority is to make sure that we are saving lives, that our search-and-rescue teams are going to be in place, that people are going to get the food, the water, the shelter that they need in case of emergency, and that we respond as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track."

Obama, who cut short a campaign trip to Florida on Monday morning to return to White House, spoke after meeting with emergency response officials.

The president had planned on Monday to begin a three-day campaign swing through Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, and Wisconsin.

Monday and Tuesday events have been canceled and the rest of the trip remains up in the air.