Every dollar spent on preparedness can save up to $15 after a disaster, according to the United Nations. With the annual cost of global disasters expected to top $2.3 trillion, that ratio explains why Amazon has spent a decade stocking relief supplies before anyone needs them.
Data shows climate-related deaths have fallen more than 99 percent since 1920, thanks to advances such as early-warning systems.
Hubs and suitcase-sized kits
The company said it runs 12 relief hubs in seven countries, working alongside the American Red Cross, Save the Children and World Central Kitchen. It has donated and delivered more than 30 million relief items, among them shelter equipment, blankets and medical devices, after more than 200 major disasters. Each hub is stocked long before a crisis so aid can arrive within hours, not days.
Amazon has also built rapid response technology systems that one person can use to restore power and connectivity for critical services. Each is portable, reusable and about the size of a suitcase. The company plans to give 2,000 of them to nonprofits at no cost by 2027.
“Our rapid response technology systems are easy to move, even when roads are impassable,” said Jeffrey Schweitzer, Amazon’s disaster relief innovation lead. He said survivors most often want to call a loved one and say “I’m OK,” or brew a pot of hot coffee, and both need power and a signal. Nonprofits return the systems to Amazon to be refurbished after use.
Tests so far
After twin earthquakes hit Venezuela in June, Amazon delivered 698,000 emergency supplies to more than a dozen nonprofits on the ground. The list included sleeping bags, tarps, generators, water filters, diapers, cleaning equipment and hygiene kits. During the 2025 California wildfires, 8,000 Amazon volunteers assembled hygiene kits and helped with cleanup.
Practice in Indian Head
In August, ahead of National Preparedness Month, Amazon joined local government agencies and other organizations in Indian Head, Maryland, for a training exercise with mock rescue operations. Participants rehearsed real-time coordination and tried out the new technology systems. The event also stocked local food banks with more than 5,000 food kits.
Mayor Brandon Paulin said planning for the worst may not make a town’s annual to-do list, but he wanted to get ahead of hurricane season. “When a natural disaster comes, there’s not a whole lot of preparedness,” he said. “Folks are stressed and worried about their own things.”
Abe Diaz, Amazon’s Head of Disaster Relief, put it this way: “The worst time to start with a plan is after something happens.” For him, preparedness means pallets of diapers and satellite communications already in place, and trained people ready to use them.
Arya Anand, a technical program manager on the relief team, studies how Amazon’s processes fit different regions. No preparation covers every outcome, she said, but practice with several organizations working together in advance helps turn ambiguity into “a superpower.”
Jesse Levin, executive director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum and founder of Tactivate, was blunter about households stockpiling supplies in basements. “Community readiness is a team sport,” he said, calling the lone-stockpile habit “an isolated, fear-driven approach.”
