PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - After a hurricane hits, one sign that things are getting back to normal is seeing U.S. postal trucks.

"I never thought I'd see Andrew again but I saw it when I got here," said Naples Postmaster Richard Barber.

Barber stepped in as Punta Gorda postmaster right after Hurricane Charley hit the area in 2004.

"I nearly collapsed in the parking lot myself when I saw my ex-post office in the condition it was in," Barber recalled.

Getting the mail out wasn't easy. The city streets were full of debris and weren't safe for anyone. Plus, the Punta Gorda post office was in shambles.

"The vehicles were parted out in our parking lot positioned to protect this plate glass from the incoming storm. The tornadoes that Charley must have brought with him picked three of those vehicles up, and put them through this plate glass window... We had a 4,000 pound air conditioner unit compressor on the roof of this building on Friday the 13th. On the 15th, we found it across the street," Barber explained.

The damage didn't stop there. The roof was a mess and working conditions inside the building were hazardous. Water was on the floor and the electricity was knocked out. The postal service took extraordinary steps to get back on its feet.

"We had to have a place to sort the mail and prep it for delivery. We did that in the backyard of this building, under a circus tent," Barber said.

But mother nature wasn't done wreaking havoc. Torrential rain after Hurricane Charley flooded the parking lot and sand bags had to be brought in to keep water away from the mail. Finally, nine days after the storm, the postal trucks were back on the street.

"What we were hearing from our delivery people on the street was they were being met at the curbside by the homeowners in appreciation of them coming back to the community," said Barber.

During the time after Hurricane Charley, the Punta Gorda post office needed to be protected. Postal Inspectors along with Post Office Police stepped in to guard the mail and the facility.