The UAE evacuated its citizens in Florida to safer locations when Hurricane Idalia smashed into the US state's western coast, the Foreign Ministry has announced.
The UAE embassy in Washington flew 34 Emiratis out of the city of Tampa, state news agency Wam reported on Saturday.
Yousef Mana Al Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US, said the embassy had taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its citizens in Florida.
Sixteen were evacuated to Miami, while another 18 were flown to Atlanta, Georgia.
Drone footage shows aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Florida
The UAE embassy urged resident citizens to stay away from areas affected by the hurricane and follow instructions issued by local authorities.
It also urged citizens to report and communicate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE in emergency cases through calling 00971 80024, in addition to registering with the Tawajodi app.
On Thursday evening Idalia developed into a post-tropical cyclone as it veered away from the US East Coast after ploughing through Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas with significant rain.
The storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands after making rainfall on Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 storm, the strongest to hit Florida's coastal Big Bend region in more than a century.
More than 90,000 homes and businesses across several counties had reported power outages as of Friday, according to PowerOutages.us.
The US Hurricane Centre issued a tropical storm watch for Bermuda since the storm, right off North Carolina's coast, still featured maximum sustained winds of 100 kph.
