Amazon, one of the most popular e-commerce sites in the world, has temporarily closed some of its warehouses in Florida as Hurricane Ian approaches. The Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, could make landfall early next week if it stays on its current path. While other online retailers have either closed their storefronts or canceled all shipments to and from Florida, Amazon has only closed the fulfillment centers located within evacuation zones along the Atlantic Coast.
As Hurricane Ian barrels near Florida, Amazon has temporarily shut its facilities there.
According to warnings delivered to staff members and seen by CNBC, the business shut down installations close to Tampa and Orlando on Tuesday. The advisories also state that Amazon expects the facilities to be closed until Friday. According to a statement sent to CNBC by an Amazon official, “We’re putting safety for our staff and customers first, as we do with most natural catastrophes.” We’ll keep sending packages from warehouses that are not in the hurricane’s path.
As Hurricane Ian moves northeastward along Florida’s coastline, many businesses that do business there, such Publix supermarkets and Albertsons food shops, are taking this precaution.
One message read, “We will continue to observe the weather and will send updates on when the building will reopen.” It was sent to personnel at a facility in Temple Terrace, a suburb of Tampa.
As a precaution against the storm, Amazon said that it is closing several sites.
An Amazon official named Richard Rocha stated in a statement that the business is “closely tracking the path of Hurricane Ian and making changes to our systems to keep our employees and those performing deliveries for us safe.” “We keep making changes as necessary. To guarantee that everyone is informed of any site closures or unsafe conditions, we are in constant contact with our personnel and delivery partners.”
The National Hurricane Center on Tuesday elevated Hurricane Ian to a Category 3 storm with peak sustained winds of 120 mph. FEMA and the White House issued warnings to Florida residents to heed local authorities’ instructions to evacuate and to not minimise the storm’s seriousness. The storm only intensified after making landfall in Cuba.
Amazon is the latest recent company to alter how it conducts business as Hurricane Ian approaches the southeast coast. The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios, owned by Comcast, are closing their theme parks in Orlando ahead of the hurricane. Additionally, the state’s airports announced their closures.
