STORY:
US Issues Y2K Warnings

Ukraine, China, Russia, Pakistan, Italy high on list to possibly avoid

The US State Department has created a list of countries that people may need to avoid because of possible problems related to the computer Y2K glitch. The list evaluates 196 countries and their status in Y2K related repairs and complications.

Toping the list is the former Soviet republic of Ukraine. According to Reuters, the list says the Ukraine is "unprepared to deal with the Y2K problem". The country was the home of the world's worst nuclear reactor accident in 1986 at Chernobyl.

In China's heartland but not in its coastal cities, the State Department found a risk of potential Y2K-related disruption in banking, finance, telecommunications, medical services and electrical power with a moderate risk of potential disruption in freight-forwarding and distribution networks.

In Russia, "Y2K disruptions are likely to occur in the key sectors of electrical power, heat, telecommunications, transportation, and financial and emergency services," the revised consular information sheet said.

Pakistan was only "somewhat prepared" and there was a "significant risk" of disruption in key areas, including health care, banking and power supply according to the report.

Italy was cited as one of the few western European nations that needed to step up its contingency plans. The State Department says "Italy will lower the risks of potential Y2K disruptions with greater progress in remediation and contingency planning, particularly in the fields of health care, telecommunications and, to a lesser extent, transportation."

Some members of congress have criticized the State Department's report saying it allegedly blurring the differences between well-prepared and unprepared countries. Japan, which some experts according to Reuters had said was ill prepared for Y2K, got a clean bill of health from the State Department, which cited a low risk of disruption.

The British Foreign Office has released a separate but coordinated series of Y2K advisories. It too had the Ukraine has a country to avoid. It said the United States could have "limited disruption to the water supply; to internal travel using small airports and to small health facilities."

Source: Reuters

DATE: 9/15/99

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