RICHMOND, VA – The U.S. Postal Service is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irene 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. The Capital Metro Area of the Postal Service is closely monitoring the movement of Hurricane Irene as it makes its way up the coast. The storm is not predicted to reach the Virginia area until Saturday afternoon. As a result, USPS operations in the area are expected to proceed normally throughout the weekend.
“We give every consideration to safety,” said USPS Richmond District Manager Jacob Cheeks. “We will ensure that each Post Office is safe for our customers, and we will make sure that our Postal employees are not in harm’s way while performing their duties. We are keeping a close eye on the situation and will continue to do so throughout this weekend.”
Depending on local conditions, some Post Offices may temporarily close their lobbies as Hurricane Irene makes landfall. The Postal Service is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irene 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.
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 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
Postal Service employees in the Virginia 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.
Now is the time to be prepared if you live in a coastal area or could be affected by severe weather. Visit www.ready.gov for tips on creating your family emergency plan and putting together an emergency supply kit.We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
