• Amazon leverages its Disaster Relief Pre-positioning initiative and logistics expertise to extend support to thousands affected by floods in Assam.

Bangalore, 15 July 2022: The extreme floods in Assam affected thousands of families, calling for immediate support and humanitarian assistance. As the heavy rains continue, displacing millions of people, there is a massive shortage of food, water, medical aid, and essentials. Post a rapid needs assessment, Amazon's Disaster Relief initiative was quick to extend real-time support.

Amazon has been working on "pre-positioning" thousands of relief kits across different geographies in India to ensure that relief material reaches affected communities at the earliest in an emergency (typically 48-72 hours from activating our response). The kits are then mobilized and deployed to the affected districts leveraging Amazon Shipping's expertise with critical logistics operations. Each kit contains essential non-food items, which can be stored ahead of a disaster, such as tarpaulin sheets, mosquito nets, a bucket, and hygiene and sanitary products. These items are essential for families temporarily evacuating from their homes during disasters like floods.

In order to enable donations by people from all across the country towards relief efforts, Amazon Pay has partnered with two NGO’s: Give India and Milaap as an exclusive payment partner for Assam flood relief.

In May, when Amazon received early reports of flooding across Biswanath, Nagaon, Karimganj, Cachar, and Darrang, the company partnered with a network of on-ground NGOs, including The Centre for Catalyzing Change and Donatekart Foundation, and deployed over 1740 food kits to impacted communities. As reports of flooding worsened towards the end of June, Amazon activated Phase 2 of disaster response and deployed over 1800 pre-positioned relief kits from Faridabad to Guwahati and then onward to Morigaon district. 2000 additional food kits with ration supplies and ready-to-eat items were procured and distributed to impacted communities. The second phase is ongoing and will conclude by July 10, 2022 – and Amazon will have collectively reached close to 5600 families since May 2022.  All Amazon's community relief operations work through close partnerships with multiple on-ground NGOs and volunteers, including BoscoNet and Care India.

Over the last two years, Amazon India's Disaster Relief initiative has supported multiple disasters. In the previous year itself, the response included Floods in Chennai (November 2021), Uttarakhand (Oct 2021), Maharashtra and Goa (June 2021), and Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat (May 2021). The largest disaster response in terms of sheer scale was during the second COVID-19 wave when the company delivered over 10,000 critical oxygen and related medical equipment to 450+ hospitals across the country, with its logistics deployed to support as a philanthropic arm. As this initiative scales, Amazon looks to collaborate with local NGO networks, other corporate and charitable donors, and local government stakeholders who are critical partners at the last mile. Globally, disaster relief continues to remain a priority, with the Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta, USA, now doubled in capacity in 2022 – with 1 million critical relief supplies donated and ready to ship to communities for the 2022 hurricane season alone.

Speaking on Amazon's support for the affected communities, Anita Kumar, Head of Amazon's India CSR and Corporate Philanthropy, said, "At Amazon, we take our responsibility toward our communities very seriously. Our teams are working tirelessly on the ground to deliver relief to the last mile. With our operations network that services every single postcode in the country, we are uniquely positioned to help these communities rebuild life by providing aid to the ground in the most time-efficient manner."

Amazon is keen to extend support to the Government's disaster relief efforts across the country and understand how to build more systemic interventions on resilience.

About Amazon India
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. 

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For more information contact:

Shashank Rathod | Amazon India| rathshas@amazon.com

Devyani Shetty |MSL |devyani.shetty@publicisconsultants-asia.com