Postal Service prepares for Ike

Freeport Post Office Complying with Mandatory Evacuation Order

Houston, TX — The Freeport Post Office is working to comply with a mandatory evacuation order issued by officials with the city of Freeport at 10 a.m. today, and is temporarily suspending all retail, mail collection, and mail delivery services operating out of the facility. The Freeport Post Office is located at 924 N. Avenue F, Freeport, TX 77541-9998. All other area Post Offices are operating normally today.

The Postal Service is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Ike by advising customers to deposit outgoing mail today or tomorrow to ensure timely processing of mail destined for delivery outside the local area.

Customers are being advised that normal service operations in the path of the hurricane may be curtailed 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 Ike 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.

Employees at locations along the gulf coast area will be working today and tomorrow to secure the mail, postal facilities and equipment in advance of the potential arrival of Hurricane Ike. Portable electrical generators and other equipment and supplies are being staged for potential use in effected areas.

The Postal Service will make plans to suspend services in the event a mandatory evacuation order is issued by local, state, or federal emergency management officials. Customer service operations in any area covered by a mandatory evacuation order would be suspended, including 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 would also be suspended at closed facilities.

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

Postal Service employees in the area are being advised to check for changes to their scheduled work reporting status by contacting the USPS National Emergency Notification Hotline to determine if any special instructions have been issued. The toll-free USPS National Emergency Notification Hotline for U.S. Postal Service employees is: 1-888-363-7462.

Additional information regarding postal operations within specific ZIP Code areas will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service as necessary.

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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, six days a week. 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.