Update on Gustav

Olan Barnes · Joined: 17 May 2004 Posts: 1175 Location: Michigan

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: Update on Gustav

I want to let you know that as we monitor the path of Gustav through the Caribbean, we are already taking steps to ensure the early delivery of benefit checks in areas likely to be affected by what is anticipated to be a very strong storm.

Working with the Department of the Treasury and the United States Postal Service, I want you to know that Social Security benefit checks which would normally be delivered next Wednesday, September 3 will instead be delivered by tomorrow to residents along the Gulf Coast from McAllen, Texas to Tallahassee, Florida. This massive, early delivery of approximately 400,000 checks will ensure that residents do not have to choose between seeking safety and waiting for their checks. As you know, SSI checks were already scheduled to be delivered today due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday.

Right now, the safety of our employees and the people who visit our offices is our highest concern. While Gustav's exact landfall location is unknown at this time, it is highly likely that some Social Security offices along the Gulf Coast may be closed early next week. No one should feel the need to make a potentially hazardous trip to a local office. Employees in the affected area are urged to monitor their local news for the latest information on the storm, and any possible evacuations or closings. These employees also should follow the emergency phone tree and check-in protocols already established within their respective regions. I'm confident that, under the leadership of Regional Commissioners Paul Barnes and Ramona Schuenemeyer, activities on the local level will be handled superbly.

We are working with the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies to prepare for the storm's arrival and the aftermath that such a severe weather event could have on the people of Social Security and its infrastructure. Precautions are being taken to protect equipment, supplies and beneficiary documentation. In the event of local office closures, Social Security's other service channels, the Internet and the 800 number, will be operational.

For many of us, memories of Hurricane Katrina are fresh in our minds. While the destruction wrought by that storm three years ago was tremendous, so too was the ability of this agency and its employees to respond in the face of that crisis. I am confident we will meet the challenges presented by Gustav and other weather threats, like Tropical Storm Hanna, in the same way. Everyone in our Social Security family is mindful of the dangers and challenges that our colleagues and the people we serve in the affected area are facing. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner