Amazon and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are working to support employees and communities impacted by the devastating wildfires in Chile and Colombia. Amazon has activated its Disaster Relief and Response teams to help organizations on the ground respond to these emergencies.
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March 5, 2024
Chile
The Amazon Web Services Disaster Response team continues to work with Help.NGO on the ground in Chile. Using our cloud technology and expertise, teams on the front lines established satellite connectivity to help the local Red Cross conduct surveys with more than 700 local families affected by the wildfires. Through these surveys, organizations identify where help is needed most and how to support.
As more than two dozen wildfires continue to burn, teams on the front lines battling the fires are using technology to gather aerial surveillance images to both monitor the progress of current fires, spot new fires, and gather new information on how to continue fighting the flames.
AWS Disaster Response activates to support communities after wildfires in Chile and Colombia.
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Colombia
After a four-day mission, our teams in Colombia were able to create a series of aerial photos of the damage cause by the fires and new maps of the burned area. The teams also used our technology to generate digital surface models, which capture the environment’s natural and artificial features after the wildfires. These are critical tools which will be used by teams evaluating how evacuated residents can return to their homes and how responders will work to recover the burned land. This information will also be used to evaluate how to respond to future wildfires that occur in difficult-to-access areas.
February 13, 2024
Chile
The wildfires burning in Chile are believed to be the country’s deadliest on record, burning thousands of homes and buildings in central and northern parts of the country. The AWS Disaster Response Team is partnering with Help.NGO, an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) specializing in emergency response. AWS will provide cloud technology and expertise to support teams fighting on the frontlines of the wildfire. Through real-time aerial surveillance images, crews will be able to understand the extent of the damage caused by the fires.
Disaster Relief by Amazon is coordinating with local aid groups to provide needed support and supplies. As relief workers on the ground identify unmet needs, we will activate our product donation networks to provide relief supplies to the impacted communities. In addition to supporting with technology and supplies, Amazon has also activated an employee-giving campaign to allow our employees from across the world to donate to relief efforts.
Colombia
The AWS Disaster Response Team continues to work with Help.NGO assisting firefighting efforts in Colombia, where crews have battled hundreds of fires during record-setting heat. The government declared a state of emergency as flames raged in the forests around Bogota, Colombia’s Capital. AWS and Help.NGO teams on the ground joined forces with National Natural Parks of Colombia to use cutting-edge technology to monitor and confirm hot spots and to track new fires. Teams also used the aerial surveillance images to generate maps for decision-making and preventative responses efforts.
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The AWS Disaster Response Team was officially launched in 2018 and has responded to nearly 50 disasters across the globe, including the wildfires in Maui, the earthquakes in Türkiye, Syria, hurricanes in the Gulf Coast and Puerto Rico, tornadoes in Kentucky, and landslides in Brazil.
Since its founding in 2017, the Disaster Relief by Amazon program has responded to multiple natural disasters across the world, including Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico, flooding in central Europe and India, the earthquakes in Türkiye, Syria, and Morocco, and the wildfires in Maui and Australia. In total, the Amazon Disaster Relief and Response Team has responded to more than 145 disasters across the globe, donating more than 23 million items to impacted communities.
