USPS is continuing to restore service in the Caribbean following the one-two punch of hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The devastating storms left much of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico without electricity, internet access, phone service or running water.
Northeast Area, the jurisdiction that includes the Caribbean, has worked with managers in the region to get mail moving again while assessing transportation and facility needs, employee safety, curfews and power outages.
Before the storms and even more so now, Anasco, PR, Rural Carrier Lilliam Lugo has encouraged her customers to use the USPS Mobile app to track their parcels.
“I help my customers find it on the app store,” Lugo said. “I tell them, ‘You’re going to love it. It will give you peace of mind.’”
Employees have also taken care of each other, including assisting with home repairs and helping co-workers like Maritza Torres contact loved ones.
Torres, an Edison, NJ, health and human resource management specialist, relied on postal colleagues in both Northern New Jersey District and San Juan, PR, to reach her mother in Puerto Rico after eight days of no communication.
“I’ve always read about our employees going above and beyond but never experienced it myself until now,” Torres said. “The devotion our postal family shows each other, to me, is priceless.”