Amazon Disaster Relief Hub Opens To Ship Donated Hurricane Aid

ATLANTA — With the official start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season on Tuesday, Amazon has positioned Atlanta as a strategic response center.

Amazon on Tuesday opened its first Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta to get a faster response to areas on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Caribbean islands and Central America typically affected by annual natural disasters.

The 10,000 cubic-foot fulfillment center space at the hub located just outside Atlanta will stock more than a half-million supplies donated by Amazon.

Home to the nation’s busiest airport, Atlanta is well-situated to dispatch disaster aid to areas in need. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is just 310 miles from the Gulf Coast, 734 miles from the Bahamas, and within 1,535 miles of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands where devastating hurricanes frequently occur.

“Our disaster relief and response team is partnering with global humanitarian relief organizations to leverage Amazon’s scale to help improve response time to large-scale natural disasters around the world,” Amazon Vice President of Global Customer Fulfillment Alicia Boler Davis said in a statement. “Our expertise in logistics and operations allows us to be nimble, fast, and effective. We’ve created the Disaster Relief Hub in metro Atlanta to provide rapid relief when it’s needed most by donating and delivering hundreds of thousands of emergency aid supplies, including shelter materials like tents and tarps, hygiene items, and medical equipment.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a sixth consecutive season of above-normal hurricane activity this year. So when disaster strikes, teams on the ground in Atlanta quickly determine what supplies are needed, assess what is available, pack and distribute to where it is needed.

After four years of disaster analysis, Amazon was able to use the resulting data to develop a pre-positioning strategy. That will deliver the most common relief supplies — tarps, tents, water containers and filters, medical supplies, clothing and kitchen items — to the places where they are needed the most. Then community partners can work with Amazon to identify other items of need to distribute in subsequent flights.

“I am thankful to Amazon for using their resources and humanitarian aid network to respond to disasters in our state, nation, and world through the new Disaster Relief Hub,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “With Amazon recently announcing the opening of a fulfillment center in South Georgia, to now announcing the opening of the Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta, it is clear Amazon sees the many benefits of establishing itself in the Peach State. I am grateful for their commitment to bettering the lives of countless Georgians.”

The Disaster Relief Hub will initially support global humanitarian aid organizations the American Red Cross, Direct Relief, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and World Central Kitchen.

See also:

• Hurricane Season's 1st Atlantic Tropical Storm Possibly Forming
• Above-Normal 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted By NOAA
• Atlanta Airport No Longer Busiest In The World: Industry Report