Even though the United States has extensive capacity and experience with disasters, the country still faces substantial challenges, as hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated. Too often, the U.S. has tried to manage disasters by “command and control”—an approach that has significant limitations. ICMA and other organizations representing local governments are proposing an alternative—a dynamic and network-centered approach that has the flexibility to move resources and assets where they need to be, when they need to be there.