FEMA has nothing on the Home Depot.

As Hurricane Sandy moved in on the northeast, and as FEMA prepared for disaster relief, the Atlanta-based company was also working on supplying residents in the storm area.

It took a lot of logistics and a heck of a lot of trucks.

"We're pulling product from Atlanta, Florida, Texas, all across the U.S." says Aaron Flowe, President of Home Depot's Northern Division.  " We've got 1500 trucks heading into the region."

Those trucks are being coordinated from the company's hurricane command center, located in Home Depot's corporate headquarters. 

It looks like a FEMA war room, with workers fielding calls from across the country, determining routes, and marshaling supplies,

"The first 750 trucks were carrying things likes generators, tarps, flashlights, batteries and plywood," says Flowe.  Those supplies were sent to the 400 Home Depot stores in the storm battered area.

Then there are the post-hurricane shipments,

"Those are chain saws, heaters, cleaning supplies like trash nags and bleach, and wet-dry vacs," says Flowe.  "Things that are needed to clean up all the debris."

The command center opened a week before Sandy made landfall.  Those manning the phones called Home Depot stores nationwide, figuring out where there were the need items and how to get them to the northeast.

Flowe says the company learned a lot from Hurricane Irene, which hit the same region a year ago.

He says they found that post-hurricane supplies need to be in place before the storm hits, because if they wait until after landfall, then roads might not be passable and those supplies will sit far away from where they are needed.

They also learned that building supplies are not needed immediately.  The first priority following a storm is clean up.  Repairs come later.

Flowe says, as far as their stores are concerned, Home Depot faired well. 

Of the 400 stores in the area hit by Sandy only 11 were closed.  Those closures were not due to damage to the stores but due to flooding and downed trees which blocked access to those stores.