Postal Service encourages residents to follow state and local evacuation procedures

Mail will be secured during Hurricane Gustav

NEW ORLEANS — The United States Postal Service (USPS) is working closely with various federal agencies to support state and local authorities with their evacuation efforts in preparation of Hurricane Gustav making landfall along the Gulf Coast. The Postal Service urges all residents in the affected areas to follow their state and local evacuation instructions.

On Friday August 29, and Saturday August 30, monthly benefit checks for customers in potential Hurricane impacted areas were processed and delivered. Nearly 400,000 people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have received their Social Security checks rather than on September 3rd, the regularly scheduled payment day. Mandatory evacuations may have stalled delivery in some locations.

The Postal Service has procedures in place to help customers reestablish connection with their mail as soon as weather conditions allow. The USPS is working closely with the Social Security Administration and other agencies to continue disbursing checks that have not been received. Customers are encouraged to go to the Social Security website, www.ssa.gov and click on the Hurricane Gustav link for more information.

In the event that a customer needs to relocate for a period beyond 16 days the Postal Service encourages customers to file change of address cards as soon as they have relocated. Filing can be done in three ways:

On line, at www.usps.com
In person at any post office, station or branch
By phone at 1-800 ASK USPS (1-800-275-8777)

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.