Hawai'i businesses lack continuity plans and are generally less prepared for a disaster than businesses on the West Coast, according to a survey by AT&T and the International Association of Emergency Managers.

Six of 14 Hawai'i companies surveyed said they do not have a continuity plan in place and half said they do not consider continuity planning a priority.

Of the companies that reported having a continuity plan, three indicated that they have not tested their plans in the past 12 months.

Some 45 percent of the companies surveyed established redundant servers and/or backup sites to ensure continuity of operations during a disaster. But only three of 14 Hawai'i companies established redundant servers and/or backup sites.

The survey was based on 100 telephone interviews conducted May 19 through June 14 by Opinion Research Corp. The respondents were company officials with responsibility for business continuity at companies with annual revenue of $25 million or more.

The businesses were located in Hawai'i, Alaska, Oregon and California, excluding Los Angeles.

The survey's results surprised city and state civil defense officials, who said continuity planning is one of the key parts of their disaster preparedness materials and messages to businesses.

A brochure that state civil defense officials sent to every Hawai'i business about a year ago urges businesses to review their emergency plans, including continuity of operations.

"Continuity of business has been a part of what we tell businesses in a number of different ways," said Ray Lovell, spokesman for state Civil Defense.

"... Once you have a continuity of business plan, it will help you get back in business faster, which is good for the economy and good for everybody."

John Cummings, plans and operations officer for O'ahu Civil Defense, said the results of the survey didn't match the response that city officials are getting from O'ahu businesses.

City civil defense officials have been regularly meeting with Waikiki hotels to talk about disaster preparedness, especially business continuity planning.

"And we have a disaster planning officer who is a certified business continuity planner," Cummings said. "The last two years have been focused on business continuity."

City officials will help companies develop their continuity plans, Cummings said.

"We won't write the plan for them, but we'll give them boiler-plate information on what they should look at, and we'll provide one-on-one assistance," Cummings said.

For assistance, businesses can call O'ahu Civil Defense at 523-4121.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.