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Disaster Relief

MSM relief workers and community members carrying emergency supplies through floodwater in a mountain community

Disaster Relief & Community Resilience

Preparing, Responding, Rebuilding — Together

MSM works with communities to reduce risk, mobilize local response, and restore safety when disaster strikes in Taiwan and beyond.

The Challenge

Disaster Risk Is Ongoing. Preparedness Must Be, Too.

Taiwan lies at the meeting point of two tectonic plates, making earthquakes a constant risk. Typhoons are the country’s other defining hazard, regularly bringing intense rainfall, flooding, and landslides. The effects are rarely equal: remote and Indigenous villages often have fewer nearby services, aging homes, and longer supply routes.

A strong response begins before an emergency: with practical knowledge, trusted local relationships, and supplies positioned close enough to move when roads and communications are disrupted.

20,000+

earthquakes recorded in Taiwan in a typical year

2,415

lives lost in the 1999 Jiji earthquake

3–5

typhoons affect Taiwan in an average year

Research estimates roughly NT$20 billion in direct losses annually, with an average of 66 people killed or missing and 159 injured.

Earthquake context: Taiwan disaster authorities. Typhoon averages: research available through Taiwan’s National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

Illustration of an Indigenous elder, a child, and community workers reviewing an emergency kit beside a rural home

Preparedness Starts Close to Home

Safety knowledge works best when communities can make it their own.

MSM adapts disaster education to local routines, languages, ages, and risks. Children, elders, families, and volunteers practice together so that preparedness becomes usable knowledge, not a one-time lesson.

How MSM Helps

Resilience Is Built Across the Whole Disaster Cycle

The objective is not only to deliver aid, but to strengthen a community’s capacity to prepare, respond, and recover.

Illustrated disaster resilience cycle showing community preparedness, emergency supply mobilization, and home recovery

01 · Before

Prepare Communities

Risk education, child and family safety sessions, local volunteer training, remote-village supply stations, and disaster-responder certification.

02 · During

Mobilize Support

Local coordination, pre-positioned supplies, emergency logistics, and rapid delivery of water and essential goods when access is disrupted.

03 · After

Restore Stability

Risk assessment and home repair for disaster-affected households, emergency assistance, and continued accompaniment through recovery.

Verified 2025 Results

Preparedness, Measured Before the Emergency

These figures reflect the community education, training, storage, and coordination systems that make faster response possible.

152

education & advocacy sessions

3,847 participant-instances

3,020

training participant-instances

community self-help preparedness

11

remote-village storage points

regular restocking and reserve-building

62

liaison meetings & drills

with government and community partners

Participant-instances count attendances, not unique individuals.

A Community’s Story

Baliyuan Village: Readiness Built on Trust

Known as Haciliwan in the Amis language, Baliyuan is a 28-household village at the end of a winding mountain road in Hualien. With younger generations often away for work, many elders live in homes that are aging alongside them.

Baliyuan elders and MSM workers taking part in a community disaster-preparedness workshop
Older residents practicing a hands-on home safety activity in Baliyuan An MSM worker listening to an elder during a home visit in Baliyuan

Trust did not arrive with the first visit. MSM returned for home-safety check-ins and shaped disaster education around what residents could use: group games, practical questions, hands-on drills, and familiar examples. Over time, preparedness became part of the village’s shared knowledge.

After an earthquake and Typhoon Kong-rey damaged homes in Hualien in 2024, MSM worked with the community to assess safety and coordinate repairs. The work continued the same principle: recovery is stronger when residents are informed, involved, and accompanied.

“I remember everything you taught me. I was paying attention!”

A Baliyuan elder during a disaster-preparedness session

Baliyuan Village (Haciliwan), Fengbin Township, Hualien · Shared with community consent.

Why Donors Trust MSM

Local Relationships. Established International Giving Channels.

Founded in 1952, The Mustard Seed Mission combines long-term community presence with established cross-border grantmaking channels for disaster relief.

Stand With Communities Through Crisis

Support Global Disaster Reduction and Relief

Help communities prepare before disaster, receive essential support during an emergency, and rebuild with greater safety and resilience.

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