Honolulu Postal Officials Support Samoa Recovery Efforts

Pago Pago Post Office open for business; mail flights on schedule

HONOLULU—Quick thinking and actions by U.S. Postal Service personnel in American Samoa helped to prevent deaths and major injuries during the Samoa earthquake and tsunami and has enabled USPS to resume operations just two days after the disaster.

At the first signs of the tsunami, Pago Pago Post Office Officer In Charge Tao Suani quickly secured the facility prior to leading her staff to higher ground. The evacuation ensured the safety of all postal employees.

“First of all, we’re thankful that our postal employees in American Samoa are safe and sound,” said District Manager Daryl Ishizaki. “In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami are only concern was for their safety.”

After the "all-clear" was given by Samoan public safety officials, Suani and her staff returned to the Post Office to check for damage to the structure and mail. They found that the office was flooded with a couple of inches of water and mud during the tsunami. The good news was that the structure didn’t appear to have sustained any substantial damage and there was only minimal damage to some parcels that had been on the floor.

Once it was determined that all postal personnel were safe, the District’s Emergency Management Team (EMT) sprang into action to coordinate recovery and relief efforts. While the Pago Pago Post Office was inspected and approved as structurally sound by Samoan building officials, the EMT decided to fly over a contractor to conduct a thorough assessment of the structure and any mail that was exposed to water or mud to confirm the absence of water-borne pathogens.

Relief supplies for postal employees from the Honolulu District will be sent out today and should arrive on Friday. Supplies include water and canned goods. Honolulu representatives of the National Association of Letter Carriers have also gathered together food and supplies to send. And, USPS headquarters is supporting the relief effort by shipping food, water, satellite telephones, Personal Protective Equipment, flashlights and batteries.

Regular mail transportation—three flights a week—has resumed between Honolulu and American Samoa. In anticipation of increased mail volume due to care packages, customers will be reminded that the best way to ensure the fastest delivery to American Samoa is to ship via Express or First Class Mail.

In the meantime, although electricity and communications at the Post Office and throughout the community are intermittent, the Pago Pago Post Office is open and serving customers as usual.

“Tao and her crew were determined to get the office up and running and serving their customers as soon as they could, to restore a sense of normalcy to their community,” said Ishizaki.

Suani has been assisted by Hawaii Kai Post Office Sales & Services Associate Lance Tanimoto, who had flown to Pago Pago two days before the disaster to conduct window skills training for postal clerks. While he was scheduled to complete the training and return this week, he has decided to stay an additional week to assist with the recovery.

“We’re grateful to Lance for stepping up and assisting Tao and her team. They need all of the help they can get, especially because we expect an overwhelming influx of relief mail and care packages to begin arriving in Pago Pago from across the globe over the next few days.”

The news hasn’t been all good, though. Two employees homes were damaged, one severely, and a Contract Postal Unit in Leone was severely damaged and is completely closed for now. PO Box customers who normally receive their mail at the CPU will be served via will call at the Pago Pago Post Office.

In preparation for future weather incidents, the Honolulu District’s EMT is creating stockpiles of emergency provisions that will be located in Guam, Saipan and Hawaii.

“Our EMT is collaborating with public safety and relief agencies in Hawaii and across the Pacific in order to be prepared to respond with additional support whenever and wherever its needed.”