Amazon has quickly helped respond to Hurricane Ida thanks to its Disaster Relief Hub, an emergency supply facility where Amazon pre-positioned over half a million relief items and logistical support.
Following the initial deployment of 140,000 relief supplies, Amazon has now donated more than 550,000 critical emergency supplies to Louisiana communities affected by the storm. The supplies include water, food items, power generator units, industrial insulated food carriers, solar chargers, water filters, and more.
In addition, the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Disaster Response Team is providing personnel and resources to support the Information Technology Disaster Resource Center, St. Bernard Parish government, and Crisis Cleanup as the organizations provide support to impacted communities. The AWS Disaster Response Team helps governments and nonprofits prepare for and respond to natural disasters and health outbreaks through its cloud services and technology.
“Hurricane Ida was one of the strongest storms to make landfall in Louisiana with wind speeds of up to 172 mph and storm surge heights between 8 and 10 feet. Louisianans are resilient, but we face a long road to recovery from the devastation wrought by Ida, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support from within the state and around the country,” Governor John Bel Edwards said.
“As one of Louisiana’s relatively new corporate citizens, Amazon has stepped up in a major way—donating over 550,000 relief items critical to our response and recovery efforts. We are truly heartened by the company’s generosity,” Edwards said.
To deliver the supplies, Amazon teamed up and coordinated with its humanitarian aid partners, including All Hands and Hearts, the American Red Cross, the Community Organized Relief Effort Response, the International Medical Corps, Good360, Save the Children, SBP USA, and World Central Kitchen. The organizations are distributing the relief supplies to Louisiana residents affected by the hurricane, which hit the Gulf Coast in late August.
Amazon will donate more relief supplies as other humanitarian aid partners assess their needs and request support. In addition, Amazon is supporting thousands of employees across the Amazon network in the Louisiana region by providing them with a resource center. The center offers emergency relief supplies and services, including meals, showers, laundry, and a business center to sign up for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Amazon has also been taking steps to assess and respond to the needs of employees and their communities in the Northeast, where Hurricane Ida’s remnants hit Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York just days after the storm hit the Gulf Coast.
The original story published on September 2, 2021:
Amazon has rapidly delivered over 140,000 relief items from its Disaster Relief Hub to help one of its humanitarian aid partners, Save the Children, respond to Hurricane Ida’s widespread damage.
Amazon donated critical emergency supplies to support Save the Children, an organization helping devastated communities begin to recover as quickly as possible. Amazon will donate more relief supplies as other humanitarian aid partners assess needs and request additional support.
Hurricane Ida crashed into the Louisiana coastline on August 29 as a Category 4 storm, with winds up to 150 mph and a severe storm surge, knocking out power to more than a million homes and businesses.
Save the Children began assessing emergency needs in communities just after the hurricane raged through the region, and Amazon immediately jumped into action to deploy relief items. Amazon employees loaded trucks and transported supplies less than 72 hours after Hurricane Ida’s landfall, delivering water, hygiene items, and children’s supplies, including diapers, wipes, and toys, along with other needed items. The supplies were delivered to Save the Children, which will distribute relief items directly to people in impacted areas of Louisiana.
“Hurricane Ida made landfall on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the same region as one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. It has been heartbreaking to watch the effect Hurricane Ida has had on so many Americans, and we know many people need help right now,” said Abe Diaz, disaster relief lead at Amazon.
“The Disaster Relief Hub allows Amazon to anticipate needs, respond faster, and deliver relief to communities impacted by hurricanes and other natural disasters,” Diaz added. “We hope that our operations and logistics capabilities help our humanitarian community partners quickly render aid and begin lifting up communities struggling amid this disaster.”
Amazon Disaster Relief Hub team preparing and loading supplies for humanitarian aid partners.
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Amazon officially opened its Disaster Relief Hub earlier this year to help shorten the response time between emergency teams’ on-the-ground assessment and the arrival of relief supplies. Those efforts can often take several days after a natural disaster such as Hurricane Ida occurs. To quicken the response time, Amazon analyzed four years of data about efforts supporting natural disaster relief. The company then created a pre-positioning strategy for community partners to help deliver the most commonly needed relief supplies.
Now, following the initial deployment of the most urgently needed supplies, Amazon works with its partners to identify other supplies from Amazon’s vast selection of products to fill additional, unique critical requirements. Amazon is also preparing to send water, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), shelter materials, debris clearing equipment, and more to additional humanitarian aid partners.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, many children and families are unsure of what the future may hold, and it’s critical they get the support they need to recover,” said Jeanne-Aimee De Marrais, senior director of U.S. emergencies for Save the Children. “In times of crisis like this, strong partnerships can make a world of difference. Save the Children is proud and grateful to work with Amazon and its Disaster Relief Hub to ensure kids and their families can quickly get essential child-focused supplies that will aid in their recovery.”
Amazon customers can support Hurricane Ida relief efforts by donating to humanitarian relief organizations. They can also use their Alexa-enabled devices by saying, "Alexa, I want to donate to Hurricane Ida relief.”
Since 2017, Amazon has donated more than 15 million in-kind products in response to over 70 natural disasters around the world. Amazon's 2021 disaster relief and response efforts have included donating and delivering more than 2.8 million emergency items. Those items aided in on-the-ground relief efforts following a massive earthquake in Haiti; severe floods in Western Europe and in New South Wales, Australia; wildfires in Turkey and Canada; a tornado in the Czech Republic; a volcano eruption in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; monsoon season in India; and the winter storms in Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.
In 2020, Amazon donated more than 1 million emergency aid items, including water, generators, air filters, food, KN95 masks, and cleaning supplies, to communities in the U.S. and abroad hit by hurricanes and wildfires. The efforts helped community partners provide disaster relief to people affected by wildfires in Australia, California, Oregon, and Washington state; Hurricane Laura along the Gulf Coast; earthquakes in Puerto Rico; and Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Central America and the Caribbean.
About Amazon's Disaster Relief and Response
Amazon's disaster relief and response efforts utilizes Amazon's vast operational excellence, innovative technologies, and global logistics network to provide fast and effective support to worldwide operations fighting large-scale natural disasters.
Amazon has filled cargo jets and shipped truckloads of Amazon-donated items for communities ravaged by hurricanes, sent solar-powered lights to people living without power after tsunamis, and enabled customers to easily donate products and cash on Amazon.com. The company has also helped organizations including governments and nonprofits expedite response efforts through our Amazon Web Services cloud services.
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