Daily printout: Aug. 19

The Postal Service is reminding employees to be aware of the risks posed by floods and to be prepared.

Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, and extreme flooding has recently affected Hawaii as well as parts of the Midwest and Texas.

Rain, snow, coastal storms and overflows of dams and other water systems can result in floods. They can develop slowly or quickly — flash floods can arrive without warning — and cause outages, disruption to transportation, building damage and landslides.

Employees can prepare themselves and their families for a potential flood by:

• Knowing the risk of flooding in your area;

• Signing up for your community’s warning alerts;

• Knowing your community’s evacuation routes;

• Creating a disaster preparedness kit that includes first-aid items; and

• Keeping copies of important documents in a waterproof container.

If a flood warning is issued for your locality:

• Find safe shelter right away;

• Do not walk, swim or drive through flood waters — turn around, don’t drown;

• Stay off bridges over fast-moving water; and

• Be prepared to move to higher ground or a higher floor.

Depending on the type of flooding, you may be asked to either remain in place or evacuate the area.

Employees also should verify or update their emergency contact information on file with USPS.

The National Preparedness page on Blue has a guide for postal operations in the event of flooding as well as personal preparedness tips.

The Ready.gov website also has recommendations for flood preparedness.

Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.

The Postal Service is marking USPS Ethics Awareness Week by reminding employees to only use postal vehicles for authorized purposes.

Using a Postal Service vehicle from the employee’s permanent duty station to commute between home and work, run personal errands, transport unauthorized people or travel to unofficial destinations is a violation of federal law and USPS policy.  

Employees on a detail assignment or official travel cannot use vehicles owned or leased by USPS for recreational or entertainment activities.

Misusing a postal vehicle can result in disciplinary action, including a minimum 30-day suspension without pay or removal from the Postal Service.

Employees with questions about the use or misuse of postal vehicles should email the USPS Ethics Office or call them at 202-268-6346. Employees with questions about using a vehicle while on official travel or a detail assignment should email the USPS Travel Office.