Figure 9:  Tractor Trailers Pick Up Supplies For Disaster Victims 

FEMA officials said that they are currently pilot testing a Total Asset 

Visibility System to track shipment and distribution of essential commodities 

such as ice, water, and food.  Such a tracking system should provide FEMA 

with the capability to track assets real time, across federal, state, and local 

organizations.   

Management Practices Contribute to Systems Operations Problems

FEMA's disaster response culture has supported the agency through many 

crisis situations, such as the 2004 hurricanes.  However, its reactive approach 

encourages short term systems fixes rather than long term solutions, 

contributing to the difficulties that FEMA encounters in efficiently and 

effectively supporting response and recovery operations.  Without taking the 

time to fully define and document systems requirements, it is difficult for 

FEMA to evaluate effectively viable alternatives to its custom designed 

systems.  Further, the reactive manner in which IT systems are funded and 

implemented has left little time for proper systems testing before they are 

deployed.   

NEMIS Requirements Not Consistently Updated 

Office of Management and Budget Circular A 11 directs agencies to reduce 

project risk by involving stakeholders in the design of IT assets.  Users can 

play an important role in helping to define systems requirements to meet 

Emergency Preparedness and Response Could Better Integrate Information Technology  

with Incident Response and Recovery 

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