Making Honolulu more disaster-ready is likely to cost at least $37 million in the next few years as the city replaces aging communications equipment, fortifies buildings, upgrades its ambulance fleet and gives emergency responders more of the tools they need, city officials said.

The city does not have an ultimate price tag for improvements in the disaster preparedness system, said Mayor Mufi Hannemann's executive assistant, Brian Woo. Some changes have begun and more will be made based on the availability of money.

Additionally, state and city civil defense officials have identified emergency shelters as a priority after estimating that it would cost about $35 million to provide adequate shelter for everyone. "We're about 60,000 spaces short on O'ahu," Woo said.

Although proper preparation can be expensive, Woo said the city understands that scrimping now could be devastating to the community later when disaster strikes. "We don't want to have a situation where we can't take care of our people," Woo said.

But Woo said the city is working with the state and is trying to tap federal money when possible.

Lessons learned from Katrina may prompt officials to shift spending priorities even in tight budget times, he said.

"We may have to spend some money for our shelters and radio towers," said Woo.

The city plans to get better equipment for Emergency Medical Services workers, including new ambulances, and is planning for more disaster training for lifeguards.

Dr. Libby Char, city director of emergency medical services, said the city is hoping that at least three of the state-owned but city-operated ambulances now on the road can be replaced.

And the city is asking for $2 million in medical equipment that could be used in a disaster when hospitals might not be able to take everyone seeking assistance right away, she said. That would mean that instead of rushing all patients immediately to a hospital, the paramedics would need to provide longer-term treatment, she said.

"We may have to hang onto patients for an hour or more," Char said, so the city wants EKG monitors, gurneys, oxygen tanks and even blood pressure cuffs.

City Information Technology Director Gordon Bruce said the the ambulances have been equipped with the technology needed to communicate directly on the same radio system as the police and fire departments, although the first responders now operate on a different system for day-to-day operations.

And he said the city has installed a fiber optic cable to provide backup communications and is working with a wireless computer network as well.

Bruce said a plan to move the Emergency Medical Services team from near the airport to the Honolulu Municipal Building also will help the shift to newer technology.

The city also is looking to train lifeguards in disaster planning, Char said.

Earlier this month, Hannemann highlighted a need for an updated emergency plan to replace the one last approved by former Mayor Frank Fasi in 1991.

O'ahu Civil Defense Agency spokesman John Cummings III said the city expects to complete the revised emergency plan by the end of this year.

That plan shows how each city agency would respond during and after a disaster. For example, parks and recreation workers usually run pools and playgrounds, but in a disaster they become shelter operations workers, he said.

Dealing with more common emergencies — high surf that washes over roads, spot flooding in low-lying areas, wind damage to older homes in ridge areas — has taught officials about some of each community's vulnerabilities, Cummings said.

With a coastal road that can be blocked by a one-car accident, isolation looms as a risk, he said.

That is why the crews that fix potholes would instead clear highways and storm drains and remove storm debris. The emergency response calls for "Plan Bulldozer," which would quickly dispatch heavy equipment from the city, state and even private companies to clear the blockages to open key roads.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.