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Church prepares for possible millennium-bug disaster
February 1, 1999 COCOA, Florida (CNN) -- As the new millennium fast approaches, many churches are preparing for the possibility of a computer-generated disaster of biblical proportions. Driven by fears that the Y2K computer bug will disrupt food distribution, water, power and other services, many residents have turned to their local churches for solutions. With the year 2000 just 11 months away, members of the Whole Loaf Christian Center in Cocoa are hard at work planning gardens, canning food and scouring catalogues for water pumps and purifiers. "We think from our research we're looking at one to two years of a major change of lifestyle," said the Rev. Tony Fadely. On an adjacent lot, the church has cleared the land and drawn up plans for a training center that could also house 200 people in a Y2K emergency, predicted to happen when computers fail to recognize the year 2000 and cease to function.
The dining room and kitchen will be expanded to feed people from the community. Church members have planted dozens of citrus trees around the property, and the area's irrigation system will be turned into a well. At home, church members have started work on vegetable plots and have collected as much canned and dried food as they can afford. "I'm taking old scrap wood off our old roof, and we're going to use the timbers to make a raised garden," said church member Mike Matson. With those tasks under way, the congregation hopes to enlist the efforts of other churches. It will host seminars and issue warnings to the community as the new year approaches. The next millennium doesn't technically begin until the year 2001, but most celebrations of that event are planned for the year 2000. Correspondent Mark Potter contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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