USPS facing heavy mail backlog after Hurricane Helen, most Georgia locations reopened
Stacks of boxes holding cards and letters are seen at the U.S. Post Office sort center December 15, 2008 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The United States Postal Service is dealing with a heavy backlog of mail as it works to get operations back up and running following Hurricane Helene.
As of Wednesday, all USPS processing facilities and most retail and delivery units in Georgia have reopened. Two retail sites remain closed, and their operations are in the process of being transferred to other locations.
The agency said that one facility was destroyed in the storm - the Lakeland Post Office. Three facilities remain without power.
According to USPS, more than 2.3 million pieces of mail were delayed by the hurricane. The backlog is now at over 55,000 pieces of mail.
While all routes are back in operation, more than 7,500 addresses remain unreachable.
"Our operations team has worked around the clock to restore operations wherever safely possible however there is significant work to be done to deliver a backlog of mail and packages and reopen routes in the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene," a spokesperson for USPS told FOX 5. "The full recovery of service to the area may stretch forward for some time."
Officials are asking any impacted residents who have relocated because of the storms to complete a change of address request at moversguide.usps.com.