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As Hurricane Ian battered Florida, the United Arab Emirates began evacuating its citizens from the southern US state on Thursday.
The UAE embassy shared photos of the evacuations on Twitter, showing a number of Emiratis arriving in the capital from Washington.
” According [ambassador to the US] Yousef Al Otaiba’s directive, the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, evacuated Emiratis from Florida to the US capital to ensure their safety against Hurricane Ian,” a tweet from the Embassy read. .
As directed by Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC evacuated Emiratis from Florida to the US capital to ensure their safety against Hurricane Ian. Upon arrival, they were received by DCM Shaima Gargash, BG Dr Rashid Al Kaabi and Embassy staff. pic.twitter.com/X8VDvnD24k
— Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the United States (@UAEEmbassyUS) September 29, 2022
UAE Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Shaima Gargash and Brigadier General Rashid Al Kaabi led the effort on the ground and received the evacuees in Washington on Wednesday evening.
They will be accommodated in a hotel in the region at the Embassy’s expense.
In a press release, the UAE embassy said 141 Emiratis had been evacuated.
“The evacuation plan included various means of transport to transfer UAE nationals out of Florida: chartering a private plane [for 119 evacuees]reservation of seats on commercial flights [for 13 evacuees]besides having people driven out of Florida [9 people drove private cars]where they were safely evacuated to Washington, DC,” the embassy said.
The plan was developed by the Embassy’s Emergency and Crisis Committee, which included Embassy employees as well as people from various technical offices, scholarship agencies and other organizations.
Due to poor weather and difficulty in finding commercial flights to the U.S. capital, evacuations were in some cases conducted to various neighboring states deemed out of the hurricane’s path.
“Our embassy guarantees that we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of UAE nationals in the United States,” Ms. Gargash said.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday and left a trail of destruction across the Southwest, flooding streets and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million people.
Hurricane Ian makes landfall in the United States – in pictures
Updated: September 29, 2022, 5:48 p.m.
