The summer always shakes up our mail delivery. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) currently observes 11 federal holidays annually, and four of them fall during the hotter months. On Memorial Day, Juneteenth, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, all post offices across the U.S. close their doors to customers, and our mail goes undelivered. But while these are planned disruptions, the USPS may also find other reasons to shut down facilities and suspend deliveries over the summer. Now, the agency has alerted customers to new closures being made for safety reasons. Read on to find out why the USPS is suspending services.
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The USPS recently closed two post offices for safety concerns.
ShutterstockThe Postal Service has long stressed its commitment to ensuring the safety of its employees and customers—and that's often the reason behind unexpected service suspensions.
Just last month, the agency shuttered two post offices citing safety. On June 21, the USPS issued two alerts announcing the temporary closures of the Mannford Post Office in Oklahoma and the Midway Post Office in Arkansas.
"Operations temporarily suspended due to safety concerns," the Postal Service stated in the alerts for both states.
In an earlier statement to Best Life, USPS spokesperson Becky Hernandez reveals that the Mannford facility had "roof damage from a weekend storm," while the Midway facility "had a fire."
Neither of these post offices have yet reopened—but now, more closures are being added to the agency's list for similar concerns.
The agency is now suspending services in two more states.
iStockPostal customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas are not the only ones being affected by unsafe conditions. The USPS recently updated its Service Alerts website with two new additions, informing the public about residential service disruptions in more states.
On June 23, the agency announced that it would be suspending services at the Plaza Kinston Post Office on North Herritage Street in Kinston, North Carolina. One week later, on June 30, the Postal Service said that it would be temporarily closing the Point Place Post Office on North Summit Street in Toledo, Ohio, as well.
Both of these suspensions were made "due to safety concerns," according to the USPS.
The North Carolina post office needs repairs.
ShutterstockThe Plaza Kinston Post Office in North Carolina is closed to customers thanks to hazardous weather. In a separate local press release posted on June 23, the USPS revealed that the facility had been shuttered in order to repair damage that was "caused by a recent storm."
Best Life reached out to the Postal Service to get more information on the damage, and we will update this story with their response.
But according to a report from local NBC-affiliate WITN, the town of Kinston was hit with a tornado on June 22. With winds reaching up to 100 miles per hour, the storm system caused roof damage to the post office in the Kinston Plaza, the news outlet reported.
Gram Spear, vice president of Perry Management, which owns the plaza, told WITN that the postal facility had also suffered water damage.
During this closure, the USPS is asking Plaza Kinston Post Office customers to go to the Kinston Main Post Office on East Caswell Street for all operations.
Officials say the Ohio facility was also damaged by a tornado.
ShutterstockThe USPS has not released a separate local news release about the Point Place Post Office closure in Ohio, however. Best Life reached out to the agency to get more information on the Ohio closure, and we will update this story with their response.
News reports indicate that the Point Place Post Office is recovering from the same problem as the Kinston Plaza Post Office. The Postal Service said that the Ohio facility was also hit by a tornado on June 15, and sustained damage to its roof, according to local ABC-affiliate WTVG. The news outlet reported that repairs are currently underway, but there is no timeline yet for a reopening.
During this closure, the USPS is directing Point Place Post Office customers to obtain retail services at the Toledo Main Post Office on South Saint Clair Avenue.
