infrastructure, along with other communications problems exacerbated the difficulties in carrying out response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina. To assist government planning in this area, the Congress, in the E-government Act of 2002, directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to request the NRC to conduct a study on the application of IT to disaster management. This report characterizes disaster management providing a framework for considering the range and nature of information and communication needs; presents a vision of the potential for IT to improve disaster management; provides an analysis of structural, organizational, and other non-technical barriers to the acquisition, adoption, and effective use of IT in disaster; and offers an outline of a research program aimed at strengthening IT-enabled capabilities for disaster management. Table of ContentsFront MatterSummary and Recommendations1 Introduction and Context2 The Potential to Enhance Disaster Management: Key IT-Based Capabilities3 Improving Acquisition and Adoption of IT for Disaster Management4 Elements of a Research AgendaAppendixesA Illustrative Fictional Narratives of IT Use in Disaster ManagementB Review of Interoperability InitiativesC Workshop AgendaD Speakers and Participants at Meetings and Site VisitsE Biographies of Committee Members and Staff

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