Over the years, we've come to expect the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to deliver our mail every day except Sunday. But daily mail service is hardly guaranteed. In fact, complaints over delivery delays have been mounting in recent months, coming from people all across the country. Though these setbacks have largely been the result of staffing shortages amid the COVID pandemic, other issues sometimes come into play. In fact, the USPS was just forced to suspend certain services over a major safety problem. Read on to find out which customers are currently being affected.
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USPS sometimes chooses to suspend services for various reasons.
iStockThe Postal Service says it's normal for a residence to not have any mail to deliver sometimes, but mail not showing up could also be a sign that the agency has removed services from your area. The USPS can suspend delivery for a number of reasons, and one issue has already caused several suspensions this year: mail carrier attacks.
In June, the agency revealed that more than 5,400 postal employees in the U.S. were attacked by dogs in 2021 alone. That's been a clear problem in 2022 as well. In May, residents in one Greenfield, Indiana, neighborhood were told the USPS would not reinstate delivery service "until residents install curbside mailboxes," after loose dogs had left one carrier so injured she needed 50 stitches. In July, pit bull attacks in Des Moines, Iowa, also caused delivery to be suspended from a neighborhood.
And that's not the only reason the Postal Service might have to halt services.
There are other reasons deliveries could be put on hold.
ShutterstockThe USPS sometimes has no choice but to suspend its services in certain places.
Right now, "several post offices in Kentucky are closed due to flooding," according to the agency's website. The Postal Service initially posted an alert on Aug. 1 about the closures, but it appears that many of the locations remain closed. This includes post offices in the following Kentucky cities: Dice, Pine Top, Pippa Passes, Topmost, MC Roberts, Ashcamp, and Premium.
Kentucky has been affected by floods for weeks now.
ShutterstockEastern Kentucky has been facing widespread flooding due to heavy rain since the end of July, CNN reported. According to the news outlet, at least 37 people have died as a result of the conditions and rescue workers are still searching for missing individuals.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the current flooding in the state is "certainly the deadliest" he's seen during his lifetime, noting that thousands of residents have been displaced because the flooding has hit roads, destroyed bridges, knocked out power, and swept away entire homes.
This is not the first time the USPS has suspended services over natural disasters.
iStockThe Postal Service has long warned customers that hazardous conditions or natural disasters may affect mail service. Earlier in August, the USPS was forced to suspend its services at several post offices in Northern California because of the McKinney Fire—a massive wildfire that broke out in the Klamath National Forest near the border of California and Oregon on July 29, per CNN
Before that, the agency had to halt operations at its Processing and Distribution Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and close at least one post office in July, because of historic flooding in that city. "Flooding conditions presented some challenges for us, and we are reallocating resources, making every effort to provide delivery, however the safety of our employees is a top priority," USPS spokesperson Mark Inglett told local Fox-affiliate KTVI .
