Gov. Chris Christie announced Friday an executive order to help send New Jersey National Guardsmen and police officers to aid disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Christie says 600 state troopers and 500 Guardsmen will go down to the island over the next six weeks. It marks the largest deployment of New Jersey police and soldiers since Hurricane Katrina.

State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes says his force will be policing areas that are now without security -- the same task they had in Louisiana in 2005.

"The same thing is happening in Puerto Rico," Fuentes says. "We understand they are down by as much as 70 percent on their police force."

In many cases, local police are occupied helping their own families.

The group will also help unload supplies that are sitting in ports, backed up by damage to the island's infrastructure.

"Most of the port workers have not shown for work, so as a result they can't unload containers," Christie said at a news conference announcing the move. "So they've got two weeks or more of supplies, both of fuel and of food and water, sitting in the port in containers."

The governor also noted that President Donald Trump and other Washington leaders will need to come to terms on a plan for the island. Christie says he believes it needs to be totally rebuilt.

He visited the White House earlier this week for discussions on the Puerto Rico crisis.

But San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz has criticized the federal government's response so far.

"This is a life or death story," she says. "This is a story of a devastation that continues to worsen because people are not getting food and water."

Christie says anyone who would like to help with a donation can call 1-833-NJ-HELPS.