Postal deliveries have been suspended for areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, scheduled to hit Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama hard on Monday. Katrina is expected to be a Category 5 hurricane when it hits land, and New Orleans' mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation for the first time in the city's history.

Some areas may be affected for weeks while utilities make repairs to downed power lines. AuctionBytes writer Lissa McGrath was affected last month by Hurricane Ivan, and last September by Hurricane Ivan when she went without power for 2 weeks. McGrath reminded readers in this article to be patient with eBay trading partners affected by hurricanes: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m07/i11/s01. http://www.usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.htm