Postal Service Braces for Ike’s Impact

After securing safety of employees, mail and facilities, USPS temporarily suspends service in key locations

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — In anticipation of Hurricane Ike, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is complying with federal, state and local officials and law enforcement honoring mandatory evacuations. The USPS has moved quickly to secure mail and protect facilities from may to be a severe impact to the Texas and Louisiana Coasts from Hurricane Ike, which is presently projected make landfall as a category 3-4.

“Our primary concern at this time is to ensure the safety of our employees and customers”, said Rio Grande District Manager Manuel Arguello. “Next, we want to secure our customer's mail and protect our facilities so that, once the event is over, we are in the best position possible to restore service to the public in areas we can re-enter, hopefully as early as Monday morning.”

Resumption of mail service and normal operations may be curtailed in the event of unsafe conditions such as high winds, flooding, or impassable roads. Mail collection schedules from mailboxes will be suspended until conditions allow access. The USPS has been working closely with state and municipal officials to make sure employees and their families evacuate, but the Postal Service is optimistic that it may resume service as early as Monday morning.

There will be no guaranteed Express Mail or First Class delivery in the impacted areas until at least Monday, depending on weather conditions and access.

Mandatory evacuations, by geographic area, are:

TEXAS

The east Texas counties of Tyler, Jasper, and Newton are under mandatory evacuation. These counties include Post Offices in the following cities — Chester, Colmesneil, Doucette, Woodville, Jasper, Kirbyville, Weirgate, Burkeville, Newton, Bon Wier and Call.

All Post Offices and Postal Service operations within the city of Houston (ZIP Code area 770) and surrounding areas (ZIP Code areas 773, 774, 775, 776, 777, 778), encompassing the greater Bryan, Beaumont and Galveston areas, will cease operations at 7 p.m. on September 12, and will remain closed on Saturday, September 13. No retail service, mail delivery, or other postal services will be provided on September 13.

The following offices located in the Texas Coastal Bend 779 and 783 ZIP code areas will be closed throughout the weekend and open on Monday:

Aransas County
Rockport, Fulton

Calhoun County
Point Comfort, Port Lavaca, Port O'Connor, Seadrift

Jackson County
Edna, Francitas, Ganado, La Ward, LaSalle, Lolita, Vanderbilt

Victoria County
Bloomington, Inez, McFaddin, Nursery, Placedo, Telferner, Victoria (all 3 Post Offices)

Refugio County
Austwell, Bayside, Tivoli

Other Post Offices in the 779, 783 and 784 ZIP code areas, depending on local conditions, may temporarily close their lobbies, including those normally open 24 hours, as the storm makes landfall. Those closed Post Office lobbies will reopen once the storm has passed, and the security of employees, facilities, and the mail has been ensured.

LOUISIANA

In Cameron Parish, the Cameron and Hackberry Post officer are closed. Grand Isle Post Office remains closed due to damage from Hurricane Gustav. Abbeville, Erath, Perry, Delcambre, Avery Island, and Kapland Post Offices will close today at 5 p.m.

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.