Amazon announced today that it has more than doubled the capacity of its Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta by prepositioning 2.4 million relief items ahead of the 2023 hurricane season, which officially begins today. The items will be distributed in the wake of natural disasters to nonprofits and other aid partners that quickly help communities impacted by hurricanes or other disasters. The Disaster Relief Hub is a dedicated space within Amazon’s global logistics network to store and quickly pack items that are most-needed following damaging storms and other emergencies.
“As natural disasters increase in frequency and severity, we’re expanding our Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta, allowing us to deliver more items in less time during this year’s hurricane season,” said Abe Diaz, head of Amazon Disaster Relief. “Since 2017, we’ve responded to more than 100 natural disasters and humanitarian crises in the U.S. and across the world. We’ve donated more than 23 million relief items, and we’ve mobilized our teams and used our logistics capabilities to help communities in need—from flying two cargo planes to Türkiye after the recent earthquakes to setting up two humanitarian hubs in just 10 days to help Ukrainian refugees.”
Amazon works year-round with national and international relief organizations—such as the American Red Cross, Save the Children, and World Central Kitchen—to identify items that will most likely be needed after natural disasters. Data shows that more than 80% of the needed items are the same after each natural event.
Using such data and forecasts from relief organizations, Amazon teams are able to pack tens of thousands of relief items and have them ready to deploy as soon as it’s safe following a natural disaster. Some of the most frequently requested products include diapers, tarps, cots, blankets, heaters, tents, solar lights and chargers, and cleaning supplies.
“We are extremely grateful for our collaboration with…
Read the full article here