WITH OR WITHOUT Y2K, EMERGENCY PREPARATION IS JUST GOOD PLANNING
Many people are worried about problems that might occur because of Y2K, and emergency preparedness experts are trying to use that increased awareness to get people to prepare for less exotic but perhaps more likely scenarios.Charlotte Craig, director of the Cape Girardeau County Health Department, isn't expecting any disasters associated with Y2K. But if talk of computers failing because they can't read the year 2000 makes people realize they should be prepared for disasters, she's ready to use it as a window or opportunity."We need to make people realize the kinds of things they should have on hand if disaster does strike," she said."We want to take the heightened awareness surrounding Y2K and earthquakes and translate it into preparedness day-in and day-out," said Mary Burton, director of the Red Cross, which has a disaster preparedness program.