DUBAI // Some hotels on the UAE’s east coast are apparently ill-equipped for the arrival of Cyclone Ashobaa.
Two hotels in Fujairah on Tuesday said they were unaware of the tropical storm that was making its way across the Arabian Sea.
Radisson Blu and Le Meridien Al Aqah had taken no precautions.
But the Miramar Al Aqah and the Hilton Fujairah were aware of the storm, which was expected to travel north towards the coast of Oman. Angela Buchner, a spokeswoman for the Miramar hotel, said: “Our spa manager is aware of the potential situation and has instructed our team to remove all of the furniture as soon as the sun goes down.”
The general manager of the Fujairah Rotana, Mrad El Khoury, said: “We took the needed precautions, actions and safety measurements and are ready to handle this type of situation.
“We have been prepared for the risk for three days and arranged for sand bags, we emptied the beach area including residential blocks and are ready to evacuate if need be.”
Meteorologists have spent much of the past few days monitoring the progress of deep-lying weather patterns off the Indian coast ahead of Ashobaa’s anticipated arrival in Oman and then the UAE.
Winds approaching 150 kilometres an hour had been predicted in some areas, along with waves that could top 4.5 metres, although the unpredictable nature of tropical storms made its exact arrival and strength hard to determine.
The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology in Abu Dhabi had been keeping a close eye on developments, and had said that the worst impact of the storm was likely to be felt in Pakistan.
A spokesman on Tuesay had said Ashobaa would intensify into a severe tropical storm over the next 24 hours.
He said the effect on the country was expected to be indirect, but that effect would rise over the east coast of the UAE by Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
“An increase in the amount of clouds to the east are expected, especially on the eastern mountains,” the spokesman said.
“NCMS will keep monitoring this weather case because it is well known that such cases are quickly changeable and have high uncertainty.”
nwebster@thenational.ae
This article has been amended from its original form to reflect a response given by the Fujairah Rotana.
