The Florida Disaster Planning Initiative (FLCP) was conducted under the auspices of the National Disaster Planning Process (CPP) as required by law. Homeland Security Act of 2002, which was amended by the department. of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007. The 2007 Act expanded the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in disaster preparedness resulting from the dismal response to Hurricane Katrina (Ruback et al. , 2010). FEMA has received specific requirements to better prepare for catastrophic disasters, and the FLCP planning process embodies one of the first major tests of the CCP. The CPP is inherently different from traditional models developed by federal entities in several respects, the most important of which is that it is a "bottom-up" planning method dictated by one of the directives of the 2007 law. FEMA was asked to collaborate with state, local and tribal governments, emergency services, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). to other federal agencies typically involved in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. In the past, most FEMA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) systems and methods have been driven in a "top-down" manner, such as the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management Systems ( NIMS), and focused on structure. of command and control rather than coordinated partnerships (Ruback et al., 2010). Another important directive of the 2007 law is the specific focus on preparing for catastrophic events rather than disasters, which are more regional in scope. Disasters affect large areas, crossing regional and often state boundaries, and will require... .. middle of paper ......rs and disasters. Other planning processes may better address other scenarios or situations, such as the Integrated Planning System approach also described by Ruback et al (2010) in the FEMA Disaster Preparedness and Response course , section 12. The FLCP has successfully demonstrated that the RPC can achieve the results of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 mandates given to FEMA. If there can be a silver lining or silver lining to the horrific disaster known as Hurricane Katrina, it must be that federal, state and local governments are better prepared to respond to disasters of the future. To best respond, these agencies must include all possible stakeholders in the planning process and draw on the full resources of the nation. FEMA's CPP and FLCP initiatives are steps in the right direction.