Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall, the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) is mobilizing for another major hurricane – and reminding supply chain professionals to take the 13th named storm of the season as seriously as they took the first.
“In an ideal world we’d have plenty of time to focus all of our efforts on Hurricane Helene clean-up and recovery, especially because the needs are so extensive,” said Kathy Fulton, ALAN’s Executive Director. “But in the real world, hurricanes don’t always wait for their turn. As a result, we are officially activating for Hurricane Milton.
“All signs point to Hurricane Milton being an extremely destructive and dangerous event for the west coast of Florida, including many parts that are still struggling with rescue and recovery efforts from Hurricanes Helene and Debby As a result, ALAN is consolidating its resources for preparedness and response efforts – and calling upon its network to help.”
Late yesterday, ALAN expanded its Disaster Micro-Site (http://www.alanaid.org/operations/) with a Situation Report that includes specifics about Milton’s projected path and impacts as well as links to transportation waivers and state business/industry resources. It will continue to provide these reports as circumstances change in the days ahead.
“The bad news is, we’ve had to use this site several times already, because there have been so many hurricanes this year,” said Fulton. “The good news is it’s allowed us to do a better job of providing the industry with critical hurricane-related information – and helped us connect humanitarian organizations with the logistics help they need more quickly.”
ALAN encourages those who want to help with Hurricane Milton relief efforts to visit the “Active Logistics Needs” portion of its Disaster Micro-Site often in the weeks ahead – bearing in mind that the vast majority of its requests tend to arrive after a storm has made landfall and initial assessments have been made – or to consider fulfilling some of the many Hurricane Helene logistics needs that are already showcased there. Organizations that would prefer to support ALAN’s relief efforts by making a financial donation instead can do so by going to https://www.alanaid.org/hurricane-helene/.
Meanwhile, ALAN urges businesses who have operations located in Hurricane Milton’s cone of concern to focus on keeping themselves and their employees safe, including allowing plenty of time for their area employees to make preparations and either evacuate or shelter in place.
“We hope this will be the last time this year that we have to send out a hurricane APB like this, because each one represents terrible circumstances that we wouldn’t wish on anyone,” said Fulton. “However we’re thankful for the overwhelming response we’ve received from members of the logistics community throughout this hurricane season so far. It is allowing us make a considerable difference for disaster survivors.”
