On Friday, September 28, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The quake triggered a tsunami that leveled multiple cities. Together, the two natural disasters caused a death toll currently known to exceed 1,400. It also destroyed thousands of homes.
Humanitarian aid has been slow to reach the hardest hit areas, due to damaged infrastructure and a lack of heavy machinery. The United Nations currently estimates that 200,000 people are stranded in the worst zones and need urgent help, with about 66,000 destroyed homes.
Adding to the nightmare, the volcano Mount Soputan—which stands on the northeastern-most end of the island—began to erupt early in the morning on Wednesday, October 3. It sent a three-mile tower of ash into the sky, making it very difficult to fly into Sulawesi’s airfield.
On Tuesday, October 2, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the tech giant would be donating $1 million to help the stricken island.
“Our hearts go out to the people of Sulawesi and all of Indonesia after this weekend’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. Apple is donating $1 million to aid relief efforts as this beautiful country starts to rebuild,” he tweeted.
While $1 million is approximately what Apple makes every 20 minutes, the company does have a solid track record of donating to emergency relief efforts around the world. Just a few days before this announcement, they pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross for the victims of Hurricane Florence. A month ago, they donated nearly the same amount to help those caught in the Kerala floods in India. Sometime last year, they donated $5 million after Hurricane Harvey. The company has also put millions towards helping those affected by California’s wild fires.
There is no law requiring that companies donate any money at all, so the fact that Apple chose to do so on its own accord shows that they truly care.