New York, NY – Homeland Security Wants NYC Prepare For Major Hurricane.

New York, NY – Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned Monday that the nation’s largest city needs to be prepared for a hurricane powerful enough to cause serious flooding in lower Manhattan and elsewhere.

“It’s always a little odd being in New York and talking about hurricanes,” Chertoff said after touring a new command center at the Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn.

Still, he added, a hurricane “would be an extraordinarily devastating blow to the city.”

Weather experts have said New York is about due for a major hurricane with 130 mph winds and a 30-foot storm surge that could cause the Hudson and East Rivers to overflow. [amny]