Hurricane Gustav: Postal Service State of Operations

USPS moves expeditiously to secure mail, protect employees and prepare facilities for Hurricane Gustav

NEW ORLEANS — The Postal Service has prepared for the impact of Hurricane Gustav by advising customers that service operations at Post Offices located within the path of the storm are expected to be impacted in the event of unsafe conditions such as high winds, flooding, or impassable roads.

Depending on local conditions, some post offices may temporarily close their lobbies as Hurricane Gustav makes landfall.  If roads become impassable or unsafe for travel, mail delivery services may be curtailed, and mail collection schedules from mailboxes could be suspended.

Postal Service employees throughout the two southwestern states that border the Gulf of Mexico, Texas and Louisiana, have been working over the past three days to secure the mail, postal facilities and equipment in advance of the potential arrival of Hurricane Gustav.

The Postal Service will continue to make plans for suspending services where mandatory evacuation orders are issued by local, state, or federal emergency management officials. Customer service operations in any area covered by a mandatory evacuation order include mail processing, mail delivery, scheduled collection of mail from mailboxes, bulk mail acceptance, post office box service and retail post office lobby services. Drop shipment appointments will also be suspended at closed facilities.

In addition, the Postal Service will offer no retail service, mail delivery or mail collections on Monday, September 1 due to the Labor Day holiday. The status by state follows:

LOUISIANA
The following mandatory evacuations have curtailed mail delivery until after Hurricane Gustav passes through and weather and road conditions permit resumption of deliveries.

• Assumption – Mandatory;
• Calcasieu - 12PM Noon Sunday, Mandatory
• Cameron - Sunday, Mandatory for residents south of Highway 14, Recommended for the rest of the parish.
• Iberia - 7AM Sunday, Mandatory
• Jefferson - 8AM Sunday, Mandatory for residents on the West Bank. 12 Noon Sunday, Mandatory for residents on the East Bank.
• Lafourche - 9AM Saturday for residents south of the flood gate, 3PM for all others, Mandatory
• Orleans - 8AM Sunday, Mandatory
• Plaquemines - 12PM Noon Saturday, Mandatory
• St. Bernard - 4PM Saturday, Mandatory
• St. Charles - 12PM Saturday, Mandatory
• St. John - 8PM Saturday, Mandatory
• St. Martin - Mandatory
• St. Mary - 4PM Saturday, Mandatory
• St. Tammany - 7AM Sunday, Mandatory for residents south of I-12 and residents living near a major tributary.
• Tangipahoa - Mandatory for all residents living in mobile homes and travel trailers, as well as anyone south of Highway 22.
• Terrebonne - 4PM Saturday, Mandatory
• Vermillion - Saturday, Mandatory
• Washington - 5PM Sunday, Mandatory for residents of FEMA trailers and mobile homes.

TEXAS
Houston - In response to the mandatory evacuation order currently in place within Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties, the Postal Service has suspended all mail collection services and delivery of Express Mail for Monday, September 1 within all 776 and 777 ZIP Codes areas. The Beaumont Processing and Distribution Center and Beaumont Main Post Office at 5815 Walden Road in Beaumont are closed. All Post Office lobbies offering Post Office Box service within the 776 and 777 ZIP Code areas are temporarily closed due to the evacuation order.

All other Houston ZIP Code areas (770, 773, 774, 775, 776, 777and 778) are operating normally at this time.

Rio Grande Valley - At the present time no offices in the Rio Grande District anticipate any impact from Hurricane Gustav.  All offices are expected to be open and fully operational Tuesday, after the Monday, Labor Day holiday and normal delivery of mail and mail collections are expected to proceed as usual.   ZIP Code areas 779 (Victoria), 783 (Corpus Christi metro), 784 (Corpus Christi city), and 785 (McAllen and Rio Grande Valley) are the ZIP Code areas which border the Gulf of Mexico. 

For the latest information on USPS service updates, check: http://www.usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.htm.

Next update: Monday September 1, 2008 2:00 PM