Teams across Amazon are working to support employees and communities impacted by the devastating earthquake in Japan that killed at least 94 people, injured hundreds more, and caused widespread destruction.
Within hours of the January 1 earthquake, the Amazon Disaster Relief team started coordinating with international and local aid groups to provide needed support and supplies. We activated our two Japanese Disaster Relief Hubs to send essential goods—including blankets, water, food, diapers, and baby formula—to the affected area. These hubs are dedicated spaces in Amazon fulfilment centers that are used to store ready-to-ship essential items, which can be sent to impacted communities within hours of a natural disaster.
Amazon teams in Japan packed more than 30,000 relief items, which reached Suzu City just two days after the earthquake. More than 90% of this city’s infrastructure was destroyed during the quake.
Our support is ongoing. As relief workers on the ground identify additional needs, we will continue to use our global logistics infrastructure, inventory, and technology to get them the support they need and deliver relief items to the communities that need them most.
In addition to delivering Amazon-donated products to affected areas in Japan, Amazon has activated an employee-giving campaign to help employees around the world donate to relief efforts.
Disaster relief by Amazon
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 team has responded to more than 145 disasters across the globe, donating more than 23 million items to impacted communities.
Learn more about Amazon’s disaster relief and response efforts.
