Manhattan could be flooded and New York could suffer as much damage as New Orleans if it were hit by a catastrophic hurricane like one that passed just north of the city in 1938, experts warned on Monday according to Reuters. "Major hurricanes are not limited to the Gulf Coast and Florida," said James Lee Witt, who was director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 1993 to 2000 in the Clinton administration. He was speaking at the launch of a campaign to improve preparation for disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, which killed at least 883 people when it slammed into Louisiana and neighboring states last month with 140 mile-per-hour (224 kph) winds and a 30-foot (nine-metre) storm surge. The ProtectingNewYork.org coalition, which includes insurance companies, will work to create a catastrophe fund like those already in place in Florida and California that would kick in if damage from a natural disaster, accident or attack reached a certain threshold, Witt said. The former FEMA chief, whose consulting firm lobbies for Allstate Insurance Co., was asked by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to advise on relief efforts after Katrina. --more 2339 Local Time 2039 GMT
