MAIL DELIVERIES TO BRENHAM, WASHINGTON CO. HELD UP BY COLLAPSE OF USPS BUILDING IN HOUSTON
The status of mail in Brenham, Washington County, and the surrounding area is on hold for anyone who gets their deliveries from Houston.
Due to the collapse of the U.S. Postal Service’s processing and distribution facility in north Houston Thursday morning, no mail is being delivered today (Friday) in Brenham, and there is no mail at the Brenham post office. Employees at the post office are telling customers they are unsure of when deliveries will arrive and be sent out.
No signs were posted at the Brenham post office to alert customers of the situation, as of this morning.
In the midst of extensive flooding in the area, the flat-roofed processing and distribution facility in north Houston collapsed. Three employees were treated for minor injuries. Several vehicles near the site were also damaged.
KWHI reached out to the Brenham post office for information, and was immediately directed to the U.S. Postal Service’s Southern Area Corporate Communications office.
Strategic Communications Specialist Kanickewa Johnson said the facility that collapsed sorts mail and packages, and provides services for its commercial mailers.
What was Tropical Storm Imelda dumped dozens of inches of rain across several southeast and east Texas counties. Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in 13 counties as a result of the storm, which killed two people on Thursday in Jefferson and Harris Counties.
Flat roofs are the norm for commercial buildings in Houston . Were the drains clogged? Possibly. That building has been around for some time. It has been through a number of storms. The real problem was the rainfall rate and serious downdrafts. I believe the rate was around 7 inches/hour. And it lasted for a long time.
Could I get an update on when they think might start moving and how much was destroyed?
Hey 2guns, I work in Austin at Postal annex, which is also handling Houston overflow mail, and that was my first thought, flat roof, under-maintained gutters, recipe for disaster.
Should have cleaned those gutters.
It’s the sole possessing center for the 7+ million Houston area residents.
Mail will have to be sent to Dallas & San Antonio for processing. Then distributed from those sites to local post offices. It will slow down mail services tremendously. Having I-10 closed at Baytown will make that area’d service even slower (New Orleans, Would have also helped . sort mail).