Following a visit to eastern Montgomery County on Wednesday, Gov. Tom Corbett on Thursday visited the operation center of the county's Department of Public Safety.

He toured the facility where 9-1-1 dispatchers coordinated the county's emergency responders and an adjacent room that had been converted into a command center for other county departments to marshal their resources during the approach and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

"I'm very impressed by the facilities they have here," Corbett said. "These emergency operations centers have become very, very important to the local residents and to the state residents of Pennsylvania."

More than 500,000 state residents remained without power Thursday, but Corbett said the state had fared well in comparison to its coastal neighbors.

"We've been very fortunate compared to our colleagues in New Jersey and New York. Our prayers are going out to them ... I haven't talked to Governor Christie yet," Corbett said. "He's much busier than I am. I'm busy, but I can't imagine what he's going through right now."

The Montgomery County Department of Public Safety said it has sent a number of EMS workers and ambulance crews to northern New Jersey to assist in search in and rescue operations there.