USPS employees in hurricane-ravaged areas deal with loss—and still make their deliveries

When Hurricane Helene touched down in Asheville, North Carolina, last month, Shawntane Duckworth stepped outside and into the storm. So many trees were falling onto her apartment building—more than three-dozen ended up falling on the property grounds—it felt unsafe to stay inside. 

The next day, however, a Saturday, Duckworth headed into work—a post office, where she serves as a letter carrier, to deliver mail. There was not much to do when she arrived at the powerless facility. She put on her headlamp and began sorting the mail for delivery, though no carriers went out on their routes that day. 

“I didn’t know and I didn’t want to get in trouble for not going,” Duckworth said, explaining why she went into work in the immediate wake of a hurricane. “No one told us not to.” 

As of Oct. 7, 11 days later, Duckworth was still without electricity and running water. Her husband is awaiting surgery after he broke his arm when a tree fell on it, creating a significant challenge to find child care for her 11-year-old son with special needs whose school remains closed. 

Still, Duckworth has shown up to work nearly every day since the hurricane devastated her city. 

Helene has wrought destruction throughout the southeast and Appalachia, causing more than 230 deaths. It has disrupted U.S. Postal Service operations in many states, some of which are still struggling to reopen facilities. In North Carolina alone, more than 20 post offices remain closed and some will need to be rebuilt after sustaining severe flooding and other damage. 

Tavon Wells, another carrier in Asheville who serves as president of the local National Association of Letter Carriers chapter, said the Swannanoa post office “essentially doesn’t exist” anymore. 

Duckworth’s story is similar to many postal employees throughout the region who spoke to Government Executive in recent days. Letter carriers typically missed one day of work before reporting for duty and attempting to carry out their routes. They frequently did so without access to showers, laundry or a generator. One North Carolina employee returned to work Monday, Oct. 7, just 10 days after three trees went through his house and it was deemed unlivable. His colleagues have set up a GoFundMe to help him rebuild. 

Jason Kimmel, a carrier in Hendersonville, North Carolina, said some of his colleagues attempted to go to work on Friday only to get stuck at their post offices, where they waited out the storm. By the following Monday, he said, about half of the carriers at his office were back to work. By Tuesday, attendance was pretty much back to normal—aside from the mounting backlog of mail that still had to be sorted and sent out. 

“Some people are still without power and clean water and they’re coming to work this whole time,” Kimmel said. "It’s pretty incredible, with the circumstances we’re dealing with.” 

While the staffing levels have returned to a near normal, the work itself is anything but. Carriers described walking over downed power lines, fallen trees and sinkholes as they navigate their routes. Places they normally went to use the bathroom along their routes, such as gas stations, are not open. Carriers have been forced to pull over on streets they normally drive down upon discovering parts of them have been washed away. Kimmel noted he must deviate from his normal route constantly due to road closures. 

Brian Obst, who represents letter carriers in Tampa, said his surroundings were a “devastation zone.” 

“I was stunned at how bad it was,” Obst said. 

Employees are also working extra hours due to the backlog of mail that built up. 

Ben Vess, another carrier in western North Carolina, saw 30 trees collapse on his property. His house is still livable, but his car was destroyed. He has not yet had time to talk to insurance adjusters, or to dig his car out, as he has worked late to catch up on mail deliveries. Still, Vess knows it could have been worse. 

“I know of at least four carriers personally who lost their homes,” he said. “I’m not going to complain about having to work with all they're going through.” 

Duckworth noted the late hours have made it impossible to bathe. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set up mobile showers for communities without running water, but ongoing curfews have forced those to close before Duckwoth ends her deliveries. Kimmel noted a similar issue has made it difficult for postal workers without the power needed to cook at home to find places to pick up hot food after they end their shift. 

A sense of normal 

Every postal employee with whom Government Executive spoke suggested they were motivated to return to work so they could do their small part in aiding in their community’s recovery efforts. 

Kimmel noted the first package he delivered upon returning to work caused the resident receiving it to break down in tears, telling him it was a gift for her son’s birthday and she did not expect to receive anything so soon. He noted it has become common for customers to stop him and talk for 10 or 15 minutes to share their hurricane stories. 

“With everything being so abnormal right now, visually, the emotional feel right now, everything is out of the ordinary,” Kimmel said. “Seeing the mail truck come by, bringing the catalogs, even junk mail, it’s the first sign that we’re digging out and getting back to normal.” 

He added it has helped the employees, as well, who value their daily interactions after the storm. He likened those conversations to “a form of therapy.” 

Obst said postal workers were an integral part of the Tampa community and they take pride in ensuring their customers are receiving their checks, medicines, passports and other essential items. 

“This is the way it works, we’re used to that,” he said. “It’s just a matter of working hard and getting it done.” 

That work is not getting done without some sacrifice, however. Duckworth noted she would prefer to go home to care for her out-of-school son and injured husband. She is pushing forward—noting she has yet to process the trauma of the last two weeks—and saving her days off for after her husband's surgery. 

“I love my job, but at the same time we want to clean up our houses and take care of our families,” she said. 

Requests for help

Employees largely expressed appreciation for their local management, the supervisors who were also dealing with fallout from the storm. Local postmasters offered flexibility to their employees and instructed them to only come back to work when they felt safe doing so. 

At the district and national level, however, employees said they have felt less support. At times, there has been no communication at all—an issue exacerbated by the lack of electricity and cell service in many areas. Workers said they have faced pressure to return to work and ensure deliveries are being carried out. 

“They’re worried about their numbers, I’m worried, ‘Can I get my generator going long enough to make my food?’” said Vess, whose power was restored Oct. 7. 

Wells, the Asheville carrier and union leader, said he has been pushing the Postal Service to provide supplies and mobile showers at USPS facilities. 

“The public sees us each day [and] not being able to clean ourselves with showers, baths, wash our hands at work, it’s a little worrisome,” Wells said. “People have started to stink. We do a dirty job.” 

Duckworth hoped postal management would be able to secure some of the supplies FEMA and others are distributing for postal-specific use. USPS unions, who said they are working directly with agency management to get employees what they need, have set up relief funds for their members. 

“We just don’t have access to what we need,” she said. “It’s very frustrating.” 

Preparing for the next one

In Tampa, USPS, like the rest of federal, state and local officials, has turned its attention to Hurricane Milton. The storm has the potential to be one of the most devastating in Florida history and postal management has held regular meetings to develop a plan and ensure employee safety. Obst said supervisors discussed when to tell employees to stop working, though the expectation is they will continue making deliveries up until the moment operations cease. 

Obst noted he is concerned all the material that individuals have pulled out of their houses, such as appliances and furniture that got flooded, have yet to be collected. That can become flying debris during hurricane winds. 

Ultimately, Obst said he has told his members to make individual calculations. 

“If they don’t feel safe, they don’t go,” Obst said. “We have to do what we have to do take care of our families.”