Postal Service prepares for Ike

VICTORIA, TX—The U.S. Postal Service is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Ike by advising customers that normal service operations in the path of the storm may be affected in the event of unsafe conditions such as high winds, flooding, or impassable roads.

Regular postal operations are expected to be in effect for today, Thursday, September 11, and possibly Friday, September 12. Depending on local conditions, some post offices may temporarily close their lobbies as Ike makes landfall. 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. If roads become impassable or unsafe for travel, mail delivery services may be curtailed, and mail collection schedules from mail collection boxes could be suspended.

Postal Service employees in the Texas Gulf Coast area will be working around-the-clock to secure the mail, postal facilities and equipment in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Ike.

The Postal Service will 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 will be suspended, including mail processing, mail delivery, scheduled collection of mail from mail collection boxes, bulk mail acceptance, post office box service and retail post office lobby services.

Drop shipment appointments for commercial mailers will 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 Texas Gulf Coast 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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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.