UAE warns citizens in the US as hurricane Beryl makes landfall today

The UAE mission in Houston calls on the citizens of the country residing in the US to exercise caution as hurricane Beryl is expected to make landfall near Houston on Monday, July 8.

By the time the hurricane reaches landfall today in Houston and neighbouring city, it could be a category 2 storm.

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In a social media post, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) urged its citizens to follow safety instructions issued by the authorities. The citizens were also advised to take note of the following emergency contact numbers: 0097180024 and 0097180044444.

The US National Hurricane Centre said today that the hurricane is about 170 kilometres east of Corpus Christi, and has maximum wind speeds of 120 kilometres per hour.

Hurricane Beryl strengthened on Sunday as it neared the Texas coast, forcing the closure of major oil ports, flight cancellations and a warning it would be a deadly storm for communities hit.

The closures could disrupt crude oil exports, shipments of crude to refineries, and motor fuel from these plants.

Beryl, the earliest category 5 hurricane on record, last week swept through Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, toppling buildings and power lines and killing at least 11 people, Reuters reported.

The storm weakened after its deadly trail of destruction across the Caribbean, but strengthened into a category 1 hurricane as it crossed the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.