Tuesday March 2 6:19 PM ET Y2K May Spark Civil Unrest, Economic Pain-US Senate By Adam Entous WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The year 2000 computer bug may set off civil unrest in poor countries, undermine economic growth in Asia, Latin America and Africa, and disrupt global trade in oil and other commodities, a U.S. Senate panel warned Tuesday. It added that while there was a low probability of an accidental nuclear weapons launch, missile systems in other countries could malfunction and terrorists, taking advantage of weakened security, could strike next Jan. 1. But Utah Republican Sen. Robert Bennett, chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on the computer problem, said U.S. intelligence services would be ready. ``The U.S. military may experience some minor disruptions, but its mission-critical, war-fighting capability will not be compromised,'' he told a news conference after releasing the panel's report. The problem is that many computers as now configured cannot recognize the year 2000. If not fixed, many computers will read ''00'' as 1900. That could cause many computers to crash or malfunction come Jan. 1, 2000. Within the United States, Y2K disruptions could be minimized, Bennett said. The committee said the most serious computer problems would likely strike other countries next Jan. 1. ``There is a low to medium probability of terrorist exploitation of Y2K. However, we must remain vigilant in case some of our security systems malfunction,'' Bennett said he told senators at a closed-door briefing Tuesday on Y2K problems. ``There is a medium probability of economic disruptions that will lead to civil unrest in certain sectors of the world, particularly where their economies are already fragile or there is political uncertainty.'' There was a ``high probability'' of economic disruptions in Latin America, Africa and Asia, Bennett added. The report singled out Japan, Mexico, China, Germany and Taiwan for falling nine months to two years behind schedule in preparing for the year 2000 bug. The committee also said that major oil producers Venezuela and Saudi Arabia were 12 to 18 months behind schedule. ``Disruption of flights and global trade between some areas and countries may occur,'' the report added. The report said that ``the committee has no data to suggest that the United States will experience nationwide social or economic collapse, but the committee believes that some disruptions will occur, and that in some cases Y2K disruptions may be significant.'' It said the U.S. health care system may be least prepared because rural and inner-city hospitals were at high risk of computer failures. The nation's Medicare system was in ``serious trouble,'' it said. The committee said that U.S. airports started preparations too late and that shipments of goods by sea could be disrupted because the maritime industry was running behind. A prolonged nationwide blackout was unlikely, although local and regional outages were possible, it said. In case vital services were temporarily cut off, the committee said Americans should consider stocking up on bottled water, canned goods and other essentials, as they might to prepare for a winter storm lasting two to three days. The report said people should also keep copies of their financial records in case banks run into unforeseen problems. :wq