After disaster strikes, time is critical when bringing help to survivors. As rescue teams and aid begin to arrive in the stricken area, coordination of relief logistics activities is essential to the effectiveness of the operation. When devastating earthquakes struck Haiti, and then Chile, in early 2010, DHL sent in its Disaster Response Team (DRT) Americas to help out.

Within 36 hours of the earthquake striking Haiti’s capital this past January, the DHL DRT Americas was dispatched to the international airport at Port-au-Prince. The team went in to manage the logistics and ensure the continuous flow of inbound freight at the airport, including the transfer and distribution of incoming relief goods, in close cooperation with the United Nations (UN). The DHL DRT team handled a variety of relief goods, such as tents, tarpaulins, food, clothing, medicines and water purifying equipment. The team also built up a temporary, professional warehouse at the airport, including sorting facilities and ensured the speedy loading of aid onto trucks or helicopters.

A few weeks later, days after an earthquake hit Chile at the end of February, DHL’s Disaster Response Team once again stepped in to help the local authorities to transport relief goods to areas that were particularly hard hit by the earthquake. The DRT organized the packaging of relief goods at Santiago de Chile Airport as well as transporting aid material to Concepcíon, the city at the center of the earthquake.

"The DRT was designed to respond to devastating situations like these and is committed to helping the people affected,” says DHL’s Director of Humanitarian Affairs, Chris Weeks. “DRT members are well-trained to provide hands-on logistics support and expertise to help the victims of natural disasters in the time of need.”

DHL Disaster Response Teams

DHL’s global Disaster Response Team network consists of three teams, each assigned to a specific geographic region covering Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East and Africa. They are the fruit of a partnership entered into in 2005 with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in the area of Disaster Management.

Each of these regional teams consists of a pool of about 80 specially trained DHL employees, who - in addition to their normal job - have volunteered to take part in the pro-bono humanitarian efforts. Up to 15 members of the team are present at any point in time during the deployment.

The DRT can be deployed to a crisis area within 72 hours and will remain on the ground until the situation has improved to the extent that the initial wave of international charter aircraft bringing in aid supplies has subsided to a level that is manageable by local authorities.