WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans should prepare for the year 2000 computer
bug
like they would a hurricane, by stocking up on canned food and bottled
water in case vital services are cut off, senators leading a congressional
study
of the problem said Sunday.
Global trade could also be disrupted because major U.S. trading partners,
including Japan and oil producers Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, may not be
able to
address the computer glitch in time, Utah Republican Sen. Robert Bennett and
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd said.
"This problem is real," Bennett, chairman of the Senate's special
committee on
the so-called Y2K problem, told CBS's "Face the Nation." "This will not
be
the
end of the world as we know it. But we have to stay on top of it."
The problem is that many computers as now configured cannot recognize the
year
2000.
To save expensive disk space, early programmers tracked dates with only the
last
two numbers of the year. If not fixed, many computers will read "00" as
1900.
That could cause many computers to crash or generate errors come Jan. 1,
2000.
Bennett and Dodd, who is vice chairman of the Senate's Y2K committee, are
expected to release their report on the computer problem Tuesday.
According to a draft copy of the report, the nation's airports started
preparations too late, and shipments of goods and services by sea could be
disrupted because
the maritime industry was running behind.
"It's not unwise for people to do a little stockpiling," Dodd told NBC's
"Meet the Press."
He said people should buy bottled water, canned goods and other essentials
as
they might to prepare for a "good storm, a hurricane" that would last two
to
three
days.
Dodd said people should also keep copies of their financial records in case
banks run into unforeseen problems. But he said that banking problems were
unlikely.
There was no need for people to buy electricity generators or stockpile
propane
because a prolonged nationwide blackout was unlikely, Bennett said.
The committee's draft report added that due to limited resources and a lack
of
awareness, rural and inner-city hospitals across the United States would be
at
high
risk. It said more than 90 percent of doctors' offices had yet to address
the
problem.
The draft report concluded that more serious problems could strike other
countries, including some major U.S. trading partners far behind in Y2K
readiness.
"Planes will not fall out of the sky, but disruption of flights and global
trade between some areas and countries may occur," the draft report said.
The committee singled out major oil producers Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for
failing to prepare for the computer glitch. Japan and Mexico were also at
serious
risk, along with France, Germany, Brazil, Italy and Spain, according to the
report.
Bennett and Dodd said the U.S. nuclear arsenal appeared to be safe, but the
computer bug could cause weapons systems in other countries to malfunction.
Dodd
said it was critical that Russia, Pakistan, India, China and other nations
work
together on the problem.
But both senators said there was no way to tell how serious the disruptions
would be.
"When we get to New Year's Eve, everybody, no matter how informed we think
we
are, is going to be holding his breath," Bennett said.
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"See God in Every Eye" --Inanna, Goddess of Love
V.S. Ferguson
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