Amazon to donate supplies to Turkey’s earthquake victims

The retail giant said in a statement Monday that it had activated its “disaster relief capabilities” in response to a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria earlier that day killing 5,000 people so far.

Amazon, which has almost 2,000 employees in Turkey, said it was preparing to donate relief items, including blankets, tents, food, baby food and medicines. It expects the first shipments to depart from its fulfillment center in the country’s capital Wednesday.

“This immediate delivery is just the beginning of Amazon’s response,” Abe Diaz, head of Amazon’s disaster relief program, said in the 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.”

The company has no facilities in the affected areas, it said.

Another company that could help Turkey is Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

On Monday, Musk responded to a tweet about SpaceX’s Starlink internet service, which said: “Hey @elonmusk a massive earthquake hit Turkey and neighboring countries. Severe communication shortages are happening. Any chance you can help with your starlink satellites?” Musk replied: “Starlink is not approved by Turkish government yet. SpaceX can send as soon as approved.”

The earthquake is the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people, according to the United States Geological Survey. At least 5,034 deaths have been confirmed so far across Turkey and Syria, according to officials in each country.

A frantic rescue effort is underway to free civilians trapped under collapsed buildings amid freezing weather conditions.

— Mostafa Salem, Isil Sariyuce, Rhea Mogul, Gul Tuysuz, Kareem El Damanhoury and Rob Picheta contributed reporting.