After Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, humanitarian and aid organizations had to act fast to get supplies into affected areas. More than 60,000 people were displaced and an estimated 750,000 were in need of assistance. With clean water hard to come by, food and crops destroyed by flooding, and medical supplies scarce in some communities it was crucial to get supplies into the country quickly.
Container transport services are often in a unique position to lend a hand for important causes, including natural disaster recovery efforts. With an understanding of supply chain logistics, rules and regulations around importing and exporting items, and established shipping infrastructure, container transport services can play a key role in helping areas affected by a natural disaster bounce back.
Ready to Go
Time is of the essence following a natural disaster. Without clean water, it’s easy for disease to spread and if hospitals run out of medical supplies the problem only grown worse.
Container transport services have the infrastructure in place to ship large amount of supplies around the world. Already being familiar with customs, the ports, and post-shipping transport can all be helpful in speeding up the delivery of supplies.
Being fully tapped into the supply chain helps container transport services pivot in times of emergency. Knowing that a truck with some room in it is heading your way and could easily be rerouted to stop at a supply collection center or holding back a ship heading to an area near where supplies are needed for a day or two to wait for a recovery shipment makes it easier for container transport services to pitch in without slowing down delivery.
Some cargo companies have plans in place for natural disaster relief and humanitarian aid work. For container transport services that regularly service areas prone to natural disasters, developing plans around delivering aid can help with later recovery efforts.
Temporary Shelter
Along with food, water, and medical supplies, shelter is often needed after a natural disaster. Whether homes were destroyed or are just inaccessible as recovery efforts begin, many people can be left without safe housing. Especially when recovery from a natural disaster is expected to take a while, it’s important to bring in temporary housing that can stand up to the elements and give some comfort to those displaced.
Temporary housing for thousands of displaced people is no small transport job, and the capacity that container transport services have can be very helpful. And sometimes transporting temporary housing means container transport services are taking on very familiar cargo.
Shipping containers have become an option for both disaster relief housing, as well as people looking to build housing with existing materials. With some modifications, shipping containers can be modified for many different housing needs from short-term dormitory style buildings to long-term or even permanent homes with all the amenities of a more traditional house.
Container transport services are the obvious choice for moving shipping container housing. They’re set up for it and understand the logistics of loading and unloading the containers and moving them to their new home.
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