Hurricane Florence has made landfall in North Carolina and brings with it the promise of miserable days ahead as the slow-moving storm’s heavy rains swamp cities and towns in its path. Amazon already put its own relief efforts in motion earlier this week, and now Alexa is stepping up.
Amazon announced Friday morning that users with access to devices enabled with the company’s voice assistant can make donations to the American Red Cross by saying “Alexa, make a donation to Hurricane Florence.” It’s the first use of “Alexa Donations” in a disaster relief scenario, the company said.
Users have already had the ability to donate to an enabled charitable organization by using Amazon Pay and Alexa. In order to donate, you must have a valid payment method in your Amazon account, with voice purchasing enabled.
Amazon activates Alexa Donations to support those impacted by Hurricane Florence. Customers can donate to @RedCross by saying “Alexa, make a donation to Hurricane Florence” #HurricaneFlorence pic.twitter.com/manU9UMLb5
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) September 14, 2018
Amazon also provided donation links to the Red Cross and Feeding America on its website.
Additionally, the company said it has “already deployed trucks packed with 100,000 food items and more than 30,000 bottles of water” donated by Amazon to Feeding America in the impacted area. More than 40 Fulfillment Centers east of the Mississippi are “ready to act,” the company said, with “teams on standby and inventory of Amazon-donated products ready to be mobilized when needed.”
The Disaster Relief by Amazon team was created to leverage the company’s expertise in its core businesses and logistics. Amazon says it provided assistance to millions of people in 2017 who were impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as floods in India and earthquakes in Mexico.
