ScienceDaily (Dec. 30, 1999) — WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seventy-three percent of respondents to an online survey on the Web site of the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) say they are prepared or plan to prepare for Y2K -- including buying a few extra days worth of groceries or storing water. Virtually all respondents -- 93 percent -- said they had paid attention to information about Y2K and most, 66 percent, felt they were well informed about Y2K.

The five-question survey posted on the FEMA Home page, at http://www.fema.gov, in mid-December had attracted 450 respondents by Tuesday, December 28.

In other results, about 47 percent of respondents believed their community was prepared and another 33 percent believed their community was . somewhat. prepared. Only 20 percent of respondents did not feel their community was prepared to deal with potential Y2K problems. In the final question, 42 percent of respondents said their concerns about Y2K were less than at the beginning of the year, while 30 percent said their concerns were the same and 28 percent said their concerns were greater.

This survey, while admittedly unscientific, does seem to indicate that the American public is well aware of Y2K and heeding advice to take some preparedness steps,. said FEMA Director James Lee Witt.

While the transition to the Year 2000 is not expected to bring major problems with the nation's infrastructure, but temporary, local interruptions of services may occur in some areas. FEMA and the President's Council on Y2K Conversion have been advising people to prepare for Y2K as they would for any potential emergency such as a severe storm.

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More Y2K information is available on FEMA's For the Media site, at http://www.fema.gov/media. Radio actualities are available from the FEMA Radio Network (1-800-323-5248).

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