Summary: Hurricane Harvey made landfall late Friday night at Rockport TX. The storm continues to ravage the Houston area with reports of up to 40 inches of rain and heavy winds. More than 30,000 people are in shelters due to evacuations, roads are impassable in many areas and power lines are down (more than 300,000 are without power). The storm is expected to move out to the Atlantic today, but return to land, possibly to Houston again on Wednesday. This slow moving storm is being called ‘catastrophic’ and ‘historic’ and its affects will likely be felt for weeks to come. The heavy rains are causing some flooding in Austin and Dallas, as well. Schools in Houston are canceled for the week.
Mailers potentially affected: Mailers with an in-home target of 8/23-9/2 and possibly beyond.
Affect on Transportation to the USPS: SCF N Houston TX did not accept drop shipments on 8/26 and does not plan to reopen until 8/30 at 1700. Mail targeted to be in-home 8/28-9/6 will be delayed in getting to the USPS 1-7 days due to this. NOTE: Once the SCF reopens, all mail that has been waiting for 1-4 days to deliver there will not be able to deliver immediately. This affects mail with zip codes starting with 759, 770, 772-778.
We believe SCF Corpus Christi reopened late yesterday, but it has not be clear from the USPS updates. We do not have any mail scheduled to deliver there, though, so no mailers should be affected if it is still closed. All other SCFs appear to be open.
Mailers should monitor Quad’s Delivery Report or contact their Mailing Rep at Quad for updates on their specific loads.
USPS Processing: Since SCF N Houston is closed, any mail they had in their facility as of 8/25 is likely going to sit and not get processed until 8/30 when they reopen. Once they do reopen and mail starts to deliver, they may have issues in getting the first mail in, out first. Mailers with an in-home target of 8/23-9/2 should expect to see delays of up to 5 days (once the mail is at the SCF) due to this. Again, N Houston zips include 759, 770, 772-778.
SCF Corpus Christi was closed 8/25 and 8/26. Processing of mail there is likely delayed 1-3 days. This includes zips 779, 783 and 784 and likely affected those with an in-home target of 8/23-8/31.
USPS Delivery Delays: There has been NO delivery in ANY zips starting with 770, 772, 773, 774, 775, 776 and 778 since 8/26 and until further notice. At this time, we do not know how long delivery will be suspended, so it may be too early to decide not to mail to these locations if a mailer is planning a mailing several weeks in the future. We would advise waiting a few days until the USPS can more fully assess the situation.
