
International Disaster Response
When a natural or human-caused disaster strikes outside of the United States, UMCOR serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance. In the short-term, UMCOR provides funds to our partners to distribute food, hygiene supplies, shelter and other basic needs to ease human suffering. In the long-term, we work with local partners towards recovery and reconstruction.


In its programming approach, UMCOR adheres to Sphere Minimum Standards in humanitarian response and the International Committee of the Red Cross Humanitarian Code of Conduct. UMCOR works through capacity building efforts and accompaniment to support that partners do the same.
2021-22 Disaster Response
UMCOR and its partners are responding to disasters across the globe every day. Please join us in prayer for the affected areas and consider giving to UMCOR International Disaster Response to support these efforts.
- War in Ukraine
- Tsunami in Tonga
- Global COVID-19 relief and recovery
- Super Typhoon Rai
- Extreme drought in Kenya and Madagascar
- Unrest in Afghanistan
- Earthquake in Haiti
- Flooding in China
- COVID-19 relief in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and beyond
- Ongoing flooding in DRC/Tanzania
- Conflict in Israel and Palestine
- Violence and displacement in DRC
- Volcanic eruption in St. Vincent
- Instability in Venezuela
- Volcanic eruption in DRC
- Fire in Bangladesh
- Unrest in Myanmar
- Cyclone Eloise in Mozambique
- Flooding, landslides, earthquake, volcanic activity in Indonesia
- Flooding in Congo
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, we join many Christian leaders and organizations worldwide in deploring this action and pray for the peace and security of United Methodists in Ukraine and Russia and for all of their neighbors.
UMCOR is in direct conversation with Methodist leadership in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. United Methodist churches in these countries are already assisting internally displaced people (IDP) and refugees within and from Ukraine with food, water, shelter and other needs. UMCOR has approved grants that will immediately strengthen these efforts. Support UMCOR’s international disaster response efforts by making a gift to Advance #982450
Brought on by the underwater eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on January 15, a tsunami in Tonga produced widespread flooding, falling ash and strong fumes, and led to the displacement of many people. As needs become clear, UMCOR is ready to offer humanitarian relief.
UMCOR awarded a recovery grant in support of vulnerable female-headed households in Abidjan, leveraging cash assistance to finance income-generating activities and offering educational workshops for women who lost a spouse and/or children in the pandemic. In Uganda, a recovery grant addressed basic needs of households affected by poverty and malnutrition exacerbated by the onset of the pandemic and reduced food insecurity through the distribution of small farming tools and education on sustainable farming practices.
India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and BangladeshUMCOR awarded relief grants to aid efforts of partners through medical equipment and PPE, information and awareness campaigns, food and livelihood support.
BahamasUMCOR awarded a grant to the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas to supplement efforts by the Bahamas government and other organizations to provide food assistance to 130 households.
SyriaUMCOR awarded a grant focused on community resilience by providing 1,000 households with COVID-19 hygiene kits.
Super Typhoon Rai struck with unpredicted force in mid-December, causing the death and displacement of hundreds of people. The storm toppled structures and caused severe flooding and landslides. UMCOR provided emergency assistance to address immediate needs in areas most damaged by the typhoon and will continue to support the Disaster Management Offices through long-term recovery.
UMCOR awarded grants to the Methodist Church of Kenya and the Methodist Church Madagascar for emergency food rations to help meet basic needs of thousands of vulnerable families affected by ongoing drought.
UMCOR will provide further updates as they become available.
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2020 Response
- Hurricanes Iota and Eta
- Typhoons Goni, Molave and Vamco
- Explosions in Beirut
- Flooding in Nepal
- Tropical storms Amanda and Cristobal
- Taal Volcano Eruption
In response to these two Category 4 storms that both hit in November, UMCOR funded and worked with partners in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala to provide emergency food, building supplies and COVID-19 protection. Grants for Panama and Mexico were also awarded.
After this destructive trio of typhoons hit within three weeks of one another in November, UMCOR awarded four grants to episcopal areas in the Philippines in support of immediate relief efforts such as access to food and water, sanitation and hygiene. The Disaster Management Office of the Manila Episcopal Area was awarded a grant for the distribution of rice and cash assistance to households affected by Typhoon Vamco as well as shelter repair and livelihood recovery.
UMCOR awarded grants to The Middle East Council of Churches, the Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue and the Joint Christian Committee (Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees, Lebanon) in support of their local response to the August 4 explosion. These funds helped to procure and deliver essential food and hygiene supplies, nonfood items such as bedding and cooking supplies, and provide psychosocial support for vulnerable children and adults.
Monsoon rains in July resulted in flooding and landslides in several municipalities across the country. Homes were damaged and hundreds of people died, were injured, or were reported as missing. UMCOR funding provided immediate relief assistance in the form of food kits and hygiene supplies for rural communities.
In late May and early June, Amanda and Cristobal impacted regions across El Salvador. Thousands of hectares of crops were damaged and many structures were destroyed by flooding and landslides. Funding provided assistance through food baskets, medicine and hygiene kits, metal material for roof repair and small stoves to families affected by the storms as well the COVID-19 pandemic.
In partnership with UMCOR, the Philippines Manila Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office identified and distributed food and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs to those displaced by the eruption in mid-January. Continued recovery efforts include working to restore livelihoods for evacuees upon return to their villages.
Past Response
In September, Dorian’s impact on the Bahamas was severe. UMCOR awarded grants to Bahamas Methodist Habitat (BMH), the Disaster Ministry of the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church (BCMC), the Bahamas Turks and Caicos Island Conference (BTCIC) of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA), and IsraAid. These grants provided immediate funding to address basic human needs as well as long-term recovery and rebuilding.
UMCOR awarded grants to the Malawi Provisional Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe and The United Methodist Church in Mozambique in response to Cyclone Idai and Kenneth’s back-to-back devastating rains and flooding. The grants provided immediate emergency funding for basic human needs including food distribution, hygiene supplies/clothing distribution, safe water access and temporary shelter.
UMCOR awarded a grant to address immediate needs in the most hard-hit provinces of Baguio while the Disaster Management Coordinators in the Philippines continued to work with their communities after Typhoon Mangkhut to assess damages and needs.


Disaster Risk Reduction
Even after the initial disaster is over, people are often endangered by subsequent disasters. UMCOR’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) program help communities to identify vulnerabilities and attend to those before another disaster strikes. In the Philippines, for instance, building a retaining wall or planting mangroves can help keep a storm surge from causing extensive damage in coastal communities. Training people what to do in a disaster is also a key step in reducing the damaging effects of future disasters.
Disaster Risk Reduction addresses fundamental problems like environmental degradation, climate change, infrastructural inequality and political negligence through small-scale, localized solutions. Even as we administer disaster response grants, UMCOR pays attention to systemic issues related to community health, sustainable agriculture, water and sanitation, education, economic justice and reconstruction.
UMCOR uses the Hyogo Framework for Action, a disaster response strategy endorsed by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), helping to substantially reduce the number of disaster losses.