As Hurricane Ian battered Florida, the UAE on Thursday began to evacuate its citizens from the southern US state.
The UAE embassy shared photos of the evacuations on Twitter, showing a number of Emiratis arriving in the capital, Washington.
“As per UAE leadership's directive and supervision of ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE embassy in Washington, DC, evacuated Emiratis from Florida to the US capital to ensure their safety from Hurricane Ian,” the embassy tweeted.
Its deputy chief of mission Shaima Gargash and Brig Gen Rashid Al Kaabi led the effort on the ground and received the evacuees in Washington on Wednesday night.
Ms Gargash said that they had less than 24 hours to evacuate everyone who could be in Hurricane Ian’s path to safety and that most of the UAE citizens were receiving medical treatment.
"In these instances you never know whether or not the hurricane will actually hit, but you always take the worst-case scenario to ensure that our nationals are safe,” she told The National.
“We made sure that we provided all the necessary facilities to accommodate for wheelchairs and other disabilities."
Talal Salim Al Sabiri is no stranger to the evacuation drill. "We are always blessed with the government’s decision that takes everything into consideration,” he said. “Everything is taken care of. They've asked us if we need any special treatment.”
They will be staying at a hotel in the area 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 the UAE nationals out of Florida: chartering a private plane [for 119 evacuees], booking seats on commercial flights [for 13 evacuees], in addition to having people drive 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 organisations.
Due to bad weather and difficulty in finding commercial flights to the US capital, the evacuations in some cases were made to various neighbouring states deemed to be out of the hurricane's path.
“Our embassy ensures that we are taking all the necessary precautions to safeguard the security and safety of the UAE nationals in the United States,” Ms Gargash said.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday and has left a trail of destruction in the south-west, flooding streets and knocking out power for more than 2.5 million people.
Hurricane Ian makes landfall in US - in pictures
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Young residents react as a truck sprays water while driving past them on a street flooded due to Hurricane Ian, in Charleston, South Carolina, US. Reuters -
An aerial image made with a drone shows flooding following Hurricane Ian in a neighbourhood in Orlando, Florida. EPA -
A man tows a canoe through a flooded street in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. AFP -
An aerial image made with a drone shows flooding near Orlando, Florida. EPA -
University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they leave an apartment complex near campus that was flooded during the hurricane in Orlando, Florida. AP -
Boats wrecked by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. AFP -
Damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of the hurricane. AP Photo -
A section of the Sanibel Causeway in Florida collapsed. AP Photo -
Florida resident Brenda Brennan next to a boat that washed up against her harbourside home in Fort Myers. AFP -
Cars submerged in a canal in the wake of Hurricane Ian. EPA -
Rescuers evacuate residents from the Avante at Orlando nursing home in Florida, during floods caused by Hurricane Ian. AP -
An Avante at Orlando resident is taken to safety. AP -
A submerged sailing boat off Punta Gorda, Florida, after Hurricane Ian passed through. Reuters -
The storm destroyed a section of the Sanibel Causeway that connects an island to the south-western mainland of Florida. AP -
Damage caused at Fort Myers Beach, Florida. AP -
Boats left in a pile at the Port Sanibel Marina Motel by the storm surge. AP -
A vehicle partly submerged on a flooded driveway in Fort Myers. Bloomberg -
The storm wrought havoc at this marina, damaging boats. AP -
This sign in Bartow, Florida, was blown over by the hurricane. AFP -
Tom Park begins cleaning up after Hurricane Ian moved through the Gulf Coast in Punta Gorda, Florida. AFP -
A storm surge made some roads almost impassable in Fort Myers. AFP -
A worker repairs energy lines during a power cut after Hurricane Ian stormed through Bartow, Florida. AFP -
Vehicles make their way through a flooded area after Hurricane Ian tore across Fort Myers, bringing high winds, a storm surge and rain, causing severe damage. AFP -
Boats are pushed up on to a causeway after Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers. Getty Images -
A man walks through debris on a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida. The storm left much of coastal south-west state in darkness early on Thursday and brought 'catastrophic' flooding. AFP -
A spiral staircase and a white pick-up truck are deposited in brushland after Hurricane Ian passed through Sanibel, Florida. AP -
A section of the causeway leading to Sanibel was knocked out by Hurricane Ian. AP -
Wind blasts across Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south in Florida. The storm made US landfall at Cayo Costa with wind speeds of more than 225 kilometres per hour. AFP -
A flooded street in central Fort Myers. Reuters -
More devastation in Fort Myers. Reuters -
A man stands in the middle of 7th Street in Ybor City a few hours before the high winds hit Tampa. AP -
Traffic lights were no match for Hurricane Ian's power in Fort Myers. Reuters -
Debris strewn across a street in Fort Myers. Reuters -
Bunting is torn from an awning in Sarasota. AFP -
Brent Shaynore runs for cover. AFP -
The St Pete pier in St Petersburg, Florida as Hurricane Ian hits. AFP -
A man carries his belongings across the street in Ybor City, Tampa. Reuters -
Hundreds of trees in the path of Hurricane Ian were uprooted in St Petersburg. AFP -
Hurricane Ian intensified to just shy of the strongest Category 5 level, threatening to wreak havoc on the southern US state. AFP -
A tree is uprooted by strong winds as Hurricane Ian churns to the south in Sarasota. AFP -
Firefighters in Naples, Florida look out at their fire engine standing in water. AP -
Even though there was a mandatory evacuation, some residents were either forced or chose to stay to ride out the storm. AP -
A pickup truck pulls a man on a kayak on a low-lying road after flooding in aftermath of Hurricane Ian, in Key West, Florida. AP -
A boat rocks in the Gulf of Mexico in Dunedin, Florida, before Hurricane Ian makes landfall on Wednesday. AFP -
Gusts from Hurricane Ian hit in Punta Gorda, Florida. AP -
Technicians monitor Hurricane Ian at Fema in Washington. AFP -
Palm trees blow in the wind from Hurricane Ian in Sarasota, Florida. AFP -
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre details the Hurricane Ian response. AFP -
A vehicle drives through the wind and rain from Hurricane Ian in Sarasota, Florida. AFP -
A police patrol drives around a neighbourhood of St Petersburg Beach as the wind from Hurricane Ian arrives in Florida. AFP -
Empty grocery shop shelves at Aldi’s in Titusville, Florida, as the state's eastern coast braces for Hurricane Ian. AFP
