Water Takes Out St. Louis USPS Distribution Center
Those folks who live in the St. Louis area expecting mail or parcels from the U.S. Postal Service may find themselves waiting a little longer for them to show up.
Water in the basement took the Market Street distribution center in downtown St. Louis offline after torrential rains caused flooding on Tuesday, July 26. This is according to stories from emissourian.com and eseller365.com.
Emissourian characterized the problems at the distribution center as an "emergency" and cited social media posts from the St. Louis Fire Department that the department responded to the distribution center because of a report of smoke in the basement. However, the main thrust of their article was how the flooding in general could hamper mail delivery in the St. Louis area for a couple of days.
Eseller365.com, a website for those engaging in internet selling, did a better job at talking about what happened at the Market Street distribution center and the problems it may cause for postal customers whose packages normally go through that center.
They report that the USPS issued an industry alert notice Tuesday night stating that the Market Street distribution center has been temporarily closed due to flooding and that mail would be diverted to a Parcel Support Annex in Hazelwood.
Eseller365.com speculates that shipments to folks in the St. Louis area could be delayed for days or weeks due to the issues. They also speculate, based on media coverage out of St. Louis, that the flooding may have also damaged some mail.
My own research on Thursday, July 28, on USPS.com, didn't turn up any current service alerts or press releases for Missouri or St. Louis in connection with the flooding or the temporary closure of the Market Street distribution center. Google Maps, however, still shows the facility as temporarily closed
So how does this impact us here in West Central Missouri? It doesn't unless you recently sent a package to someone in St. Louis or are expecting a package from someone in St. Louis that would go through that distribution center. Then it might take a little longer for the package to get where it's going.