Tropical Storm Irene’s chaotic aftermath has tested the mettle of U.S. Postal Service employees, but by the end of last week – just 11 days after the harrowing flooding that wiped out roads, bridges and buildings in about 40 towns in central and southern Vermont – the mail deliveries have returned to near-normal schedules.
USPS Northern New England District spokesman Thomas Rizzo said as of Sept. 8, about 11 post offices in Vermont were operating with limited hours because of road access problems. In some cases, mail is being sorted and held at alternate post offices.
“This is an event that’s been in flux nearly every day,” Rizzo said. “Our customers have been great. They are fully supportive and understand what we are dealing with. Everyone is in pull-together mode.”
The day after the storm, 52 U.S. Post Office locations in Vermont were without power, and 32 were closed and inaccessible.
The West Hartford, Vt., post office was condemned after flooding, so the mail destined for that site is being routed to a nearby Hartford post office. The Stockbridge post office is closed; box and rural delivery mail from that locale is being processed at a Rochester post office, Rizzo said. In Killington, road access issues meant the mail for that area was sorted and held in a Rutland post office. A Bridgewater post office is still relying on a generator for electrical power, and a damaged Forestdale post office may move operations to Brandon, Rizzo said.
Rizzo cited numerous instances of postmasters and mail carriers who took near-heroic measures to open post offices and keep mail moving when Monday, Aug. 29 dawned and revealed Irene’s nightmarish aftermath.
“I can tell you that there were postmasters who rode four-wheelers or walked miles just to report to work,” Rizzo said. “There is a post master who is navigating a foot bridge. The West Hartford postmaster has a usual commute of 30 minutes; the day after the storm it took four and a half hours. We had postmasters who shoveled inches of mud out of buildings so they could open. Then, in one case after the shoveling, postage stamps were sold from the back of the [postmaster’s] car because the smell was so bad.”
A sense of duty compelled many Postal Service employees to get to work, he said. Postal employees were determined to ensure that mail deliveries were made to residents and businesses in their communities. “When we talked to them, they expressed the same thought: ‘I had to get there, people depend on us,’” Rizzo said. “Getting the mail, having mail deliveries, it offers a sense of normalcy that was needed.”
“Outstanding doesn’t begin to describe their efforts,” he continued. “There are so many people who’ve lost so much; some have lost everything, and that includes our workers. They’ve been heavily impacted. I’ve spoken to postal workers whose lives were at risk, as were other lives. We know there are people who are in dire circumstances, people who escaped disaster with only the clothes on their backs.”
Changes should not mean inferior delivery service, he said, but it will mean slightly slower service in some locales. The contents of the familiar blue USPS mail collection boxes stationed on streets and business plazas may be collected earlier because of the limited hours affecting certain state roadways, Rizzo said. It may be a while before residential mailboxes located on posts along roads that were lost to the storm can be replaced.
“If the sidewalk was washed away, we can’t mount a post [until repairs are completed],” he noted.
United Parcel Services spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg offered information about the company’s response to delivery challenges.
“Throughout this week we have had service impacts to select ZIP codes along the East Coast; they were gradually reduced to three in Vermont by today, Friday – 05746, 05751, 05762,” Rosenberg said. “We have maintained updates of these ZIPs posted to ups.com in a link right on the home page.”
Rosenberg noted company officials are able to assess road risks.
“Our local UPS operations teams know their geographic footprint,” she said. “They work with drivers and assess the road conditions. Simply put, we will deliver where we have safe access, but we will hold packages in our buildings if it is not safe for access.”
She said customers should go to ups.com or call 1-800-Pick-UPS to track specific shipments. Rosenberg said she wasn’t aware of damage to UPS package facilities in Vermont.
FedEx media representative Carla Boyd said in a statement that the delivery company is maintaining a flexible protocol for deliveries to areas with limited access, she noted.
“We do not have a set policy on when we would return [a package] to sender,” Boyd said. “A situation like this is obviously extraordinary and our main focus is to secure the packages at one of our facilities until the local conditions allow for us to make the delivery. If customers have a question, we encourage them to call 800-463-3339.”
Boyd did not offer specifics about company operations.
“I don’t have specifics on which exact stations are functional,” she said in the statement. “We did implement contingency plans in the areas to allow us to provide service to the best of our ability. In those areas impacted, we continue to monitor and service as conditions allow. Only in areas that are severely impacted, that are still restricted, would we not be providing service.”
Once restrictions are lifted, service is expected to resume, she said.
