Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, flooding, and other natural disasters wreak havoc on communities and sometimes result in total devastation. After the damage is done, recovery efforts take place to assist the community and the people affected by the disaster. Packaged ice becomes a necessity in most cases as water and electrical supplies are often either inoperable in the community or, in some cases, contaminated.

The ice supplier(s) in the affected community may also have inoperable manufacturing facilities for a period of time until water and electrical services are restored. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Association), the Salvation Army, and the Red Cross will usually step in to help the community receive the products (packaged ice and bottled water) they will so desperately need until the infrastructure services are restored.

The IPIA offers the following suggestions in the event of a natural disaster:

• Since disasters are handled by the individual state affected, contact the affected state’s Emergency Management Manager.
• Contact the local ice supplier(s) if you have excess ice that you can donate or sell into the disaster area. The local ice supplier(s) will know best where, how, and who needs ice the most. If you cannot reach the local supplier(s) or do not know who to contact, call IPIA Headquarters for assistance.

If the IPIA can help, please contact us for assistance.