For making a sound disaster prevention and protection system, enhancing its functions, and increasing the public’s disaster prevention awareness and response capabilities, in order to protect the safety of people’s lives, bodies, properties and conserve the homeland, the Act was enacted especially.

The terms of the Act are defined as follows:
1. Disaster: hazards caused by any of the following disasters:
(1) Natural disasters including windstorm, flooding, earthquake (including soil liquefaction), drought, frost, debris flow and large-scale landslide disaster, and volcanic disaster; and
(2) Fire, explosion, public gas, fuel pipe line and power transmission line failure, mining disaster, air crash, shipwreck, land traffic accidents, forest fire, toxic and concerned chemical substances disaster , biological disaster, animal and plant diseases, radiation disaster, industrial pipeline disaster, and suspended particulate disaster.
2. Disaster Prevention and Protection：Refers to measures including mitigation and preparedness before disaster, response actions during disaster, and recovery after disaster.
3. Plans of Disaster Prevention and Protection: including the Basic Plan, operation plan and regional plan of disaster prevention and protection.
4. Basic Plan of Disaster Prevention and Protection: refers to the nationwide disaster prevention and protection plan authorized by the Central Disasters Prevention and Protection Council.
5. Operation Plan of Disaster Prevention and Protection: refers to the Disaster Prevention and Protection plan prepared by the central regulating authorities of disaster prevention and protection business or the public enterprises for their respective business or administrative functions.
6. Regional Plan of Disaster Prevention and Protection: refers to the municipal government, county (city), township (city) and mountain indigenous districts of special municipalities (hereinafter referred to as indigenous district) disaster prevention and protection plan respectively authorized by the municipal government, county (city), or township(city) and indigenous districts Disaster Prevention and Protection Council.

Prevention, response and recovery for all types of the disasters, the following agencies shall be the central regulating authorities for the disaster prevention and protection:
1. Windstorm, earthquake (including soil liquefaction), fire, explosion, and volcanic disaster: Ministry of the Interior;
2. Flooding, draught, mining disasters, industrial pipeline disaster, public gas, fuel pipeline and power transmission line failure: Ministry of Economic Affairs;
3. Frost, debris flow and large-scale landslide disaster: Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan;
4. Air crash, shipwreck and land traffic accidents: Ministry of Transportation and Communications;
5. Toxic and concerned chemical substances and suspended particulate disaster: Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan;
6. Biological disaster: Ministry of Health and Welfare
7. Radiation disaster: Atomic Energy Council
8. Other disasters: the central regulating authorities of Disaster Prevention and Protection business designated by Central Disasters Prevention and Protection Council.
The preceding paragraph prescribing the central regulating authorities for the disaster prevention and protection, shall be in charge of disaster prevention and protection business in following missions:
1. Command, supervision, and coordination of the central regulating authorities and municipal government, county (city) government for disaster prevention and protection.
2. Draft and implementation of amended disaster prevention and protection operation plan.
3. Support and deal with disaster prevention and protection works.
4. Deal with command or coordination of the affairs of disaster prevention and protection, and noncompliance of Act in non-local administrative areas.
5. Where the disaster region involves the sea area and crosses over two municipal governments or county (city) governments, or where the disaster situation is significant and the municipal government or the county (city) government is unable to coordinate and process in due time.
6.Manage disaster resources, organize information, perform disaster prevention and rescue tasks, and cooperate with Ministry of Education and relevant agencies to conduct disaster prevention and protection education for all citizens.

(Regulating Authorities)
The regulating authorities of the Act, at the central level shall be Ministry of the Interior; municipality, the municipal government; and county (city), the county (city) government.
The municipal or county (city) government and township (city) and indigenous districts offices handle the affairs of disaster prevention and protection according to Article 18, paragraph 11, subparagraph 2, and Article 19, paragraph 11, subparagraph 2, Article 20, paragraph 7, subparagraph 1, and Article 83-3, paragraph 7, subparagraph 1 as prescribed in the Local Government Act and the Act accordingly.
The affairs concerning disaster prevention and protection works conducted by offices subordinated to special municipality and city governments shall be determined by special municipality and city governments in accordance with the rules governing the township (city) offices based on the Act.

(Essential Measures & Report)
The central regulating authorities of disaster prevention and protection may take essential measures of law, administration and finance for the purpose of Disaster Prevention and Protection, and shall report such actions to Legislative Yuan.