Logistics and Supply Chain

When Irma Hit, We Hit Back

In 2017, large parts of the United States and the Caribbean were devastated by several severe storms. Hurricane Irma was one of them. Thousands of citizens were displaced in its wake. With nowhere to go and without food, clothing, or medical supplies. When the Category 5 hurricane made landfall on Friday, September 8, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba was directly in its path.

The government responded immediately. With materials and equipment desperately needed to restore both critical security and basic services, they turned to GDIT. We helped ship nearly 85 metric tons of supplies, including coordinating the production and delivery of critical toolkits for Security Engineering Officers. At the same time equipment requisitions were being processed, our designated project leads began staging and allocating the materials already available. We chartered multiple flights and processed more than 1,500 crates.

Hurricane Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit Cuba’s shores in more than 80 years. Fortunately, our coordinate efforts with multiple government agencies was crucial in ensuring the response effort was a success.

  • 84.4 metric tons shipped

  • 1,557 individual material units processed

  • 4 flights chartered

  • 95 pieces loaded onto aircrafts

  • $787,000 estimated value of equipment shipped