U.S. Warns Travelers On World Y2K Problems
Tuesday September 14 4:44 PM ET
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States advised its citizens Tuesday that they could run into Year
2000 computer problems in countries including Brazil, China, India, Russia and Ukraine.
In updating travel advice for 196 countries and territories, however, the State Department stopped short of saying any
particular country might be unsafe to visit.
``At this point there is no indication for any country in the world that leads us to put out a travel warning,' said the department's
citizen services director, Kevin Herbert.
Nevertheless, some of the consular information sheets anticipated widespread problems in some destinations.
``Y2K disruptions are likely to occur in the key sectors of electrical power, heat, telecommunications, transportation and
financial and emergency services,' the State Department said of Russia. Neighboring Ukraine was ``unprepared' and likely to
experience problems in all sectors reliant on computers.
Japan and Germany, the second and third largest world economies respectively, were generally well prepared, the advisories
said.
Italy, a popular travel destination, received a could-do-better report card.
``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,' the advisory said.
France was rated ``low risk.'
The so-called Y2K glitch could prevent some computers from distinguishing 2000 from 1900 because of old software
shortcuts that recorded the year with two digits only. Unless fixed, this could disrupt everything from airlines to health care to
telephones.
The consular information sheets are designed to protect the health and safety of U.S. citizens abroad and cover topics such as
crime, diseases and local laws. They are a primary source of information for travel agents and independent travelers and will
now include Y2K advice.
``This information will help Americans make their own decisions,' said Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering.
Updates are to be posted regularly on the Internet at travel.state.gov.
State Department officials said staff levels at some U.S. consulates might be reduced at the end of the year because of Y2K
concerns about power supplies and communications but no decision had been made yet. No U.S. missions would be closed.
In other country reports, China was said to be continuing Y2K repair efforts and contingency planning but there could be
disruption to banking, communications and other key sectors outside the main coastal cities.
For Brazil there was a risk for moderate but largely isolated disruptions in telecommunications, electricity, the health sector, and
possibly financial services.
India appeared to be generally prepared apart from electric power and the port system, ``parts of which have been slow to
address the Y2K issue,' the State Department said.
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