Hawai'i, with its active statewide Civil Defense warning system, is one of the best-prepared places in the nation for natural disasters, but the Islands have a key weakness: a shortage of emergency shelters.

Secure shelter could have saved lives in Louisiana and other states in Hurricane Katrina's path, but Hawai'i emergency management officials say it is in short supply nationwide and in the Islands as well.

"We'd like to make sure that we have enough shelter space to take care of everyone, but no county does," said Allan DeLima, plans and operations officer for Maui County Civil Defense.

The state's goal is to be able to provide shelter for 462,000 of Hawai'i's 1.25 million people — not including visitors — and it remains 124,000 short of that figure, said state Civil Defense chief Ed Teixeira. He said his agency is awaiting the release of $2 million over two years to retrofit buildings for shelter use, and that should cut the shortfall by roughly 20,000.

"It's a slow process, but we have to keep pushing," Teixeira said.

A consistent flow of money over a period of years is needed to do the shelter outfitting work, he said.

Civil Defense officials in every county said the lack of shelter space for residents and visitors is a key issue in their disaster planning.

"We are woefully inadequate. If everyone on the island had to get to shelters, we wouldn't have enough shelters. And it's not like you can drive 200 miles to avoid a storm," said Bill Balfour, administrator of O'ahu Civil Defense.

"We hold exercises. We're up to date. Our people are on top of it. They've trained and trained and trained.

"The problem is that if we ever got a direct hit on this island, it would be very, very devastating. It would be just unimaginable."

Most hurricane shelters statewide are in public schools that have been fitted with impact-resistant screens over windows, wind-proof doors and plastic louvers instead of glass. Civil Defense figures show that 197 of the state's 219 shelters are schools.

DESIGN IN MIND

Occasionally, the planners get a break. Teixeira said Civil Defense officials had an opportunity to provide input in the design of the new Hawai'i Convention Center and, as a result, its ground-floor rooms are designated an emergency shelter for up to 18,000 people. Most of those people would come from Waikiki hotels if the resorts conclude their in-house sheltering facilities are inadequate given the threatened disaster.

Advance planning for disasters is vital, said Dennis Hwang, a disaster mitigation expert who advises government agencies and wrote the recently released "Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook." Hwang had been scheduled to address Louisiana officials in October on hazard mitigation.

"We need to be planning for hazards as early as possible in the development process," he said, preferably during site design, before buildings are even planned.

But in many areas on all islands, communities have little choice. Kaua'i, where most housing was damaged or destroyed in 1982's Hurricane Iwa and 1992's Hurricane 'Iniki, has the benefit of newer homes constructed under strict wind-resistant building codes. But the other islands may be at risk.

Hawai'i County Civil Defense plans and operations officer Neil Gyotoku said plantation-era homes along the Hamakua coast would be vulnerable in a powerful windstorm.

KONA DEPRIVED

In some areas, school buildings may be inadequate for shelters because they are too old to withstand a direct hurricane hit or have not been fitted with wind- and debris-resistant protections.

The South Kona region of the Big Island is recognized as a shelter-deprived zone, Gyotoku said. That area has the additional threat of being served by a winding road lined with tall trees, and it would almost certainly be left impassable after a hurricane.

The answer for residents statewide is to be as prepared as possible at home by having enough supplies available to survive without assistance for at least several days and to be prepared to provide your own safe shelter.

"I'd have every person develop a family disaster plan. I would encourage safe rooms, looking at our lack of shelter space all over the nation," said Clifford Ikeda, Civil Defense plans and operations officer on Kaua'i.

SAFE ROOM

A safe room is a small structure within your home or on your property designed to keep you safe even if your house blows away. It should be built to withstand 250 mph winds and the impact of a 15-pound, 2-by-4 plank fired at 100 mph. Plans are available free of charge from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In hurricane-savvy Kaua'i County, a property tax break in the form of a $40,000 reduction in assessed value is available for homeowners with a safe room.

"Survival is each person's responsibility. I'm building one before I retire," Ikeda said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.