UPS suspends operations in Hurricane Irma evacuation areas

Mandatory evacuations have already been issued for coastal areas.

UPS has suspended deliveries and other operations in areas under mandatory evacuation orders due to Hurricane Irma.

So far, the suspension of service affects 20 coastal Georgia zip codes and more than 400 zip codes in Florida, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

"We'll continue to update that as the storm progresses," said spokesman Matt O'Connor. Those who want to send something to friends or family should check the UPS website to see if their zip code is affected.

The U.S. Postal Service has also suspended operations in areas of Florida and competitor FedEx has suspended service in certain cities in Florida and suspended FedEx Freight and SmartPost service in cities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

It’s yet to be seen whether deliveries could be affected in metro Atlanta, O’Connor said.

“It’s too soon to tell. We’ll have to see what the storm does in the coming days,” O’Connor said.

The company is also allowing free redirects of packages on its UPS My Choice app, by offering free premium service for 30 days. O'Connor said that will allow those displaced by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and wildfires in the West to more easily redirect packages.

“If you do need to leave your home you can redirect your package to where you will be,” he said.

The suspension of UPS operations started Thursday. The company canceled its cargo flights into Miami and other south Florida airports.

O’Connor said operations would resume “as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Service in Puerto Rico has resumed, he said.

“We make every effort to meet our service commitments as long as they’re safe to do so,” O’Connor said. “It’s the areas under the evacuation order that we’ve secured our facilities and allowed our employees and their families to secure their homes and seek shelter.”

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