Better to be safe than sorry ...

Three days to go and are we ready for the big one? NICK SMITH tells us all we need to know for coping with Y2K - if the gremlins gatecrash the millennium party.

The worse-case scenario goes something like this - total failure of essential services such as electricity, water supply and wastewater systems.

All networks have crashed, there is no money available as the banking systems have failed, telecommunications don't work and fresh food will quickly perish without refrigeration. General mayhem ensues ...

Of course, no one is suggesting such an end-of-the-world plot will actually occur, but just like the Scoutmasters of old, agencies are urging New Zealanders to be prepared. Dib, dib, dib.

So, are we ready?

According to a Y2K Readiness Commission survey, 80 per cent of us are. But that also means that a fifth of all New Zealand households are unprepared if the doomsday scenario unfolds on January 1.

The commission urges people to prepare for the worst, saying it is not too late to gather a survival kit.

Kits should contain enough to last for three days, while households should stay prepared until the end of March, says commission chairman Basil Logan.

"I would say to those four out of five [who are prepared], look after your neighbour," says Mr Logan.

"My advice to the one in five: it's not too late [to make up a kit with] some non-perishable food, water and a means of communication, a radio with extra batteries and backup cooking facilities.

"My feeling is that the community as a whole is ready, and I'm sure New Zealanders will look after each other.

"But the other thing I want to emphasise is that [the Y2K scenario] is not a one-hour thing. Many businesses won't be tested until the first or second week of January, and problems may not emerge until then.

"Organisations that supply essential products - those people they are relying on may not deliver. Businesses may want to set up contingency plans, double up on supplies or arrange a bit of extra credit at the bank.

"There are a range of businesses who think that, because they aren't dependent on computers, they don't have to do anything.

"Well, they may still be dependent on some key suppliers, so take some simple steps. Those who have left it late, it's not too late. Businesses, stay alert for the next few months. Households, if you wake up and nothing has happened, don't raid your Be-ready Kit, just stay ready."

A basic kit should include canned and appropriate dry foods, petfood, special diet and baby foods, extra toilet paper, manual can opener, bottled tap-water, radio, torches, spare batteries, matches, candles, alternative cookers such as barbecues, a full gas bottle, a full petrol tank for the car, a first-aid kit and a supply of essential medicines.

The commission is also urging people to check which health professionals are available during the Y2K risk period, find out from your insurance company what its policies cover, and to organise a support network of family, friends and neighbours.

So, how will we know if Y2K has struck? The commission says that a single incident such as a loss of power does not mean that the end is nigh. Indeed, electricity often fails because of car accidents and lightning strikes on transformers and stations or power brown-outs and surges.

Several agencies say that Kiwis should listen to the radio in the first instance and ring the supplier power companies only for electricity problems, Telecom for phone matters and the council for water.

Of course, in emergencies, ring the police, fire or ambulance, the commission says.

One of the big fears is systematic computer failure. All computer users must guard against the real likelihood of threats to the security of their systems, says commission adviser John Good.

He says "computer hackers and virus freaks will see the coming of the new millennium as a historic opportunity to undermine information technology systems around the globe ... The release of damaging new viruses will turn from a possibility into a certainty."

He urges computer users and businesses to not use borrowed or pirated software, buy or update an antivirus programme available free of charge at www.microsoft.com/y2k/antivirus/AntiVirus.htm and to be extremely cautious about e-mail attachments and floppy disks.

The banking industry is ready for Y2K, saying that all systems, including direct debits and credits and payment of wages and benefits, have been successfully tested.

Banks are reassuring customers that money "cannot disappear overnight but will remain safely in everyone's accounts."

Every day banks record all account information and transaction details, including backup files, so people need only take out as much extra cash as they normally would for a four-day holiday weekend.

Even if there is widespread system failure, the banks say goods can still be bought using chequebooks, credit card vouchers and manually processed Eftpos.

The Insurance Council says householders need to exercise even more vigilance during the millennial holiday period.

It urges holidaymakers to ensure security alarms are Y2K compliant, as well as taking normal protection measures such as parking a car in the driveway, stopping newspaper deliveries, locking windows and doors, keeping blinds and curtains open and keeping a record of serial numbers of personal items.

Transit New Zealand says travellers should expect traffic delays, avoid peak travel periods, tune to local radio stations for up-to-date traffic reports, bring the driver's licence because police will be everywhere, fill up with petrol and be aware that Y2K problems may mean Eftpos will not work.

However, catastrophes are not expected. The commission says New Year celebrations may result in medical emergencies, traffic gridlock (particularly in Auckland), car crashes, criminal activity and brawls. In short, just your average mayhem.

Phones will probably become overloaded as hundreds of thousands of people try to phone their nearest and dearest around the country or overseas, while local areas may experience loss of power or water.

What is important is not to panic, because a more likely scenario is that hundreds of thousands of people will experience only one emotion - elation.