The NRCS provides emergency management coordination, conducts planning, deploys resources, and collects and disseminates incident information as it builds and maintains situational awareness. The NRCS does the following:

• Maintains situational awareness of specific potential threats, events, or incidents.
• Collects, validates, analyzes, and distributes incident information.
• Coordinates the use of other Federal agencies' - resources through mission assignments and interagency agreements.
• Develops the National Support Plan, National Advanced Operational Plan, and Functional Plans to source and address identified resource shortfalls.
• Coordinates with the affected region(s) to determine initial requirements for Federal assistance.
• Coordinates support and situational reporting with the RRCC(s).
• Activates and deploys national teams.
• Deploys initial response resources and other disaster commodities when required.
• When directed, assumes responsibility for regional incident support if a regional office is not operational.