READ THIS NEXT: USPS Is Suspending Mail Delivery Here, Effective Immediately. The Postal Service will curb its operations when doing so is deemed necessary—and that can happen for a wide variety of reasons. In March, the agency stopped deliveries to Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Then in July, the USPS suspended service at its Processing and Distribution Center in St. Louis, Missouri and closed a post office in the state due to historic flooding.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Just last week, residents in one Ohio neighborhood were stripped of their mail delivery service after a letter carrier was attacked by a loose dog in the area. USPS spokesperson Naddia Dhalai told The Vindicator on Sept. 21 that the agency will end its service suspension for the Ohio neighborhood only “when it is safe for the letter carrier.” “The safety of our delivery employees and the aim to provide great customer service are both paramount to who we are as an organization,” Dhalai explained to the newspaper. Now, that dedication to safety has led to a new suspension. The USPS released an alert on Sept. 27, notifying Americans that the agency’s South Florida District is temporarily adjusting its services. The district has announced a “temporary suspension of mail delivery and retail operations in the Lower Florida Keys due to the approach of Hurricane Ian,” according to the news release. “Many Post Offices in Florida are closed due to Hurricane Ian,” the USPS states in a new banner warning on its Service Alerts page. The Postal Service has also suspended mail delivery for residential and business customers in the following ZIP Codes: 33001, 33040, 33042, 33043, 33050, and 33051. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Hurricane Ian hit Florida on Sept. 28 as a Category 4 hurricane, CNN reports. According to the news outlet, it made landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida near Cayo Costa and is one of the strongest hurricanes to ever land on the west coast of the state. As a result, more than one million people are currently without power in Florida and some are trapped in their homes due to rising water. “Our top priority is the safety of our customers and employees,” the USPS says on its website. “A destructive Hurricane Ian made landfall along the west coast of Florida. There are impacts to USPS operations in areas affected by the powerful storm.” The Postal Service initially indicated that retail operations had been suspended for 10 separate post offices in South Florida on Sept 27. But later that same day, the USPS updated its Service Alerts page with more than 200 additional facilities in the state that will not be operating due to the the hurricane. Services at all of these facilities are being “temporarily suspended until future notice,” according to the agency. Likely due to the number of closed facilities, the USPS has also indicated that there are no alternate sites available for mail pickup or retail services—which is something the agency usually provides to residents when their local post office has been temporarily closed. To stay up-to-date on when certain post offices and delivery operations resume, the USPS says it will be consistently updating its Service Alerts webpage to provide Americans with current information. “The Postal Service appreciates its customers and their understanding as we temporarily adjust operations due to inclement weather,” the agency said. “We will continue to monitor tropical weather conditions and will restore service when it is safe to do so.”
