Amazon's (AMZN) first four trucks of donated relief items reached the Hatay and Malatya provinces in Turkey this week, bringing much needed items such as blankets, heaters, tents and food to help the survivors of the earthquake that has left over 25,000 people dead.
The four trucks left Amazon’s fulfillment center in Istanbul with supplies such as diapers, baby food and medicine while the first truckload carrying customer donations departed on Feb. 9 yesterday to Kahramanmaras, Amazon spokesman Patrick Malone told TheStreet.
Amazon PR Patrick Malone
Emergency aid has been sent globally to help out in rescue efforts and for the survivors of the earthquake on Feb. 6 which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.
Survivors in Turkey and Syria are facing frigid temperatures and streets and buildings that have been completely demolished, leaving just rubble. A soccer stadium stadium in Kahramanmaras, Turkey has been turned into an area where families sleep in tents and receive aid.
Companies, including ones in the tech industry such as Google (GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL) and others such as yogurt maker Chobani and the IKEA Foundation stepped up to provide assistance immediately. Amazon's first truck of supplies left on Feb. 7, the day after the devastating impact of the earthquake.
A field hospital with 230 doctors, search and rescue experts and military medics was set up by the Israel Defense Forces on Feb. 8 while restaurateur and chef José Andrés opened up several kitchens and distribution centers through the non-profit he founded, World Central Kitchen, to provide hot meals to survivors in Turkey.
Food was prepared in Kahramanmaras, World Central Kitchen said in a tweet.
"WCK joined volunteers helping deliver our hot meals to emergency crews & families staying near their destroyed homes, waiting for the news of loved ones. Rescue teams are working so hard to save lives while neighbors do all they can to help. #ChefsForTürkiye"
A number of pop up and government kitchens were also launched while World Central Kitchen provided 90,000 meals on Feb. 10, Andrés said in a tweet.
"Yesterday Elbistan north of Kakhamanmaras…found this kitchen run by an amazing group of chefs and friends from different parts of Turkey," he tweeted. "This is all across Turkey, pop up kitchens and Government Kitchens. It takes all of us! @WCKitchen did Yesterday 90k meals…#ChefsForTuerkiye"
Amazon Donates Money, Sets Up Tech Support
Amazon said it committed an initial $600,000 in cash donations to non-governmental organizations providing support in Turkey and Syria such as Red Crescent of Türkiye, AKUT (Search and Rescue Association), the AHBAP foundation, Emirates Red Crescent, World Food Program, Save the Children and UNICEF. Supplies were donated to Goods 360 and Global Empowerment Mission.
The tech behemoth also established a Turkey Disaster Relief Hub near Istanbul in Kocaeli "to be able to more quickly provide relief items to areas impacted by the recent earthquake," he said.
Amazon is working with its local logistics partners to convert an initial 2,000 square meters or 21,530 square feet of warehouse space into a facility that will "distribute critical supplies to frontline organizations," Malone said.
"The company and Amazon customers have donated nearly 100,000 relief items so far, and donations continue to come in," the company said in a blog post.
NGOs and other relief organizations will be able to access the donations from the relief hub soon.
"We’re planning for the middle of next week as donations come in from across Europe and the rest of the world," he said.
Tech support is also being provided - the Amazon Web Services Disaster Preparedness and Response team will have trained technical volunteers and technical solutions to offer assistance to Help.NGO, a United Nations partner in the region.
Amazon has a disaster relief unit called Disaster Relief by Amazon (DRbA), and will work with other local relief organizations such as Red Crescent, the company said in a blog post.
“This immediate delivery is just the beginning of Amazon’s response,” said Abe Diaz, head of Amazon’s Disaster Relief program in a statement. “Over the coming days, we’ll work with local organizations and disaster-relief groups to identify on-the-ground needs and use Amazon’s logistics and delivery network to meet them.”
IKEA Foundation Donates 10 Million Euros
The IKEA Foundation, which remains separate from the IKEA stores, said on Feb. 8 it would donate 10 million euros in emergency funding to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) which provides free medical assistance globally.
The foundation is also working with other partners who are operating in the region and "coordinating with Turkish authorities to understand further needs and opportunities to provide additional assistance," Annemieke de Jong, Head of Refugee Livelihoods and Emergencies, IKEA Foundation, told TheStreet.
"We call on other funders, governments and businesses to join us and match funding to MSF and other organizations working on the ground,” she said.
Teams of doctors, nurses and medics are working nonstop to help the survivors impacted by the earthquake, Charly Gaudry, deputy director of operations, head of emergency response of Médecins Sans Frontières told TheStreet.
Medical support and relief assistance are "desperately needed in northwest Syria and Türkiye since the collapse of buildings has left many people without shelter in very cold temperatures," he said.
The number of people who are homeless have reached at least 150,000 in Turkey, Gaudry said.
Gaudry said more help is needed since the hospitals in northern Syria already have hundreds of injured people.
"We need to guarantee the population access to drinking water because the water infrastructure has been destroyed, so we need to be able to ensure an emergency water supply," he said.
Médecins Sans Frontières donated emergency and trauma kits, medical supplies, and blankets to 30 hospitals and health facilities, sent 90 ambulances to transfer patients and set up mobile clinics in Syria.
"We increased the capacity of the hospitals we’re working in by adding triage tents in the outside wards," Gaudry said.
Donations from people and the IKEA Foundation are "an example of the trust-based generosity that we experienced this week," he said. "By giving to our emergency fund, people will be helping ensure we can respond immediately to emergencies worldwide, including the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.”
Donations from Chobani, Apple, Google
Hamdi Ulukaya, the Turkish born CEO of Chobani, spearheaded an effort to raise money for the survivors of the devastating earthquake by donating $1 million to the Turkish Philanthropy Funds (TPF) and committed to matching up to another $1 million in donations.
"This is my homeland, and one of the biggest catastrophes in the country’s history – my heart is breaking," he told TheStreet. The cold winter days are here and people need access to food, water, shelter and medicine," Ulukaya said. "There is not time to waste."
Ulukaya's goal is to raise $5 million for the Turkish Philanthropy Funds' earthquake relief and recovery efforts.
"It is our duty and obligation to immediately offer help – and I’m overwhelmed by the support I’ve gotten from the business community which has joined me in these efforts," he said.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, tweeted on Feb. 6 that the tech company will offer "relief and recovery efforts.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would also participate in sending supplies to help out the impacted areas as cold temperatures remain a large factor, but did not provide details.
