Disaster Relief

USPS has a long and storied history of making sure mail delivery continues in communities when disaster strikes. America trusts that we will deliver the mail under virtually any circumstance. This legacy continues today.

When an earthquake damaged the West Covina Post Office in Southern California, the Postmaster moved the lobby outside into mobile retail vans. When floodwaters spilled into the Fond du Lac Post Office in Wisconsin, employees reported to work at the county fairgrounds. In the aftermath of wildfires in the West and tornadoes in the South, we made sure residents got their mail.

When a historic hurricane season’s powerful storms pounded the Gulf Coast and moved up the Eastern seaboard, employees rose to the challenge and kept the mail moving.

The same thing happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit, when postal employees were back on the job delivering mail within days.

California wildfires ravaged Rancho Bernardo, destroying homes and dumping a layer of ash over the area. Letter Carrier Tracy Beard wears an N-95 mask while making deliveries. USPS employees were among the first allowed to return to the area once the fires were contained.

Delivery vehicles in the parking lot of the Fond du Lac, WI, Post Office following severe flooding in spring 2008. Despite near-record water levels, USPS employees in the area began working together to resume services and deliveries the very next day

In the winter of 2008, a tornado flattened the Castalian Springs, TN, Post Office. The next day, P.O. Box Customers were receiving their mail in nearby Gallatin, TN, and Castalian Springs letter carriers were making deliveries where it was safe to do so.