The federal government's response to major disasters and emergencies in the United States is guided by the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework. The framework is based on a tiered, graduated response; that is, incidents are managed at the lowest jurisdictional level and supported by additional higher-tiered response capabilities as needed. Overall coordination of federal incidentmanagement activities is generally the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security. Within the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA is responsible for coordinating and integrating the preparedness of federal, state, local, and nongovernmental entities. In this capacity, FEMA engages in a range of planning efforts to prepare for and mitigate the effects of major disasters and emergencies.