Apr 17, 2024 By Katherine Mansfield 3 min read

The Houston Borough post office is closed indefinitely after sustaining flood damage during last week’s storms.

Signage explains to patrons why the Houston Borough post office is closed and directs them to the nearest location, in Strabane.

“It’s bad,” said Dayna Schussler, sales clerk. “We don’t have mail in this building. Luckily, the carriers are in a different building. We’ve lost stamps. Computers and just random paperwork and stuff that was on the floor. Nothing valuable, other than stamps.”

During last Thursday’s storms, about 19 inches of water flooded the post office, which sits along South Main Street. The post office closed Friday for cleanup.

On Monday, an official note from U.S. Postal Service, signed by Houston branch manager David Sharick, was posted to the front door.

“Due to facility conditions and needed repairs, it will be necessary to suspend all services at the Houston Post Office at the close of business today, Monday, April 15,” the letter read.

The letter does not state a reopen date, but does direct all patrons to a nearby post office – 218 Latimer Ave. in Strabane – for the duration of the closure.

“The nearest office to us is Strabane. We’ve been directing them to go there to mail their stuff, buy stamps, that sort of thing,” Schussler said. “We’re, like, a pretty busy little office, so it’s been rough. We definitely do have regulars that we see every day.”

Schussler has worked at the Houston post office for about five years. She said this is the first time during her tenure the office has flooded, but she is aware of at least two previous floods.

Bags filled with sand line the exterior of the Houston Borough post office Tuesday afternoon. Cleaning crews are working to clear the building of mud, muck and other debris after the post office flooded during last week’s storms.

“From what I hear, I guess the last time was a couple feet. It (last week’s flood) was not as bad as the last time it flooded,” Schussler said.

Cleaning crews are working diligently to scrape muck and mud off the post office floors. The post office will remain closed indefinitely, Schussler said, at least until the new computers arrive and Postal Service executives give the building the green light to reopen.

“I’m still just trying to wrap my brain around it all,” Schussler said. “It’s crazy.”