UAE Consulate In Houston Urges Nationals To Exercise Caution Amid Severe US Winter Storms

The UAE Consulate in Houston has issued a notice urging UAE nationals in the United States to exercise caution as Houston faces a sharp drop in temperatures.

The mission emphasised the importance of following safety instructions advised by authorities, contacting +971 800 24 or +971 800 4444 in case of emergency, and registering with the Tawajudi service.

Forecasters warned that snow, sleet, and freezing rain, combined with dangerously low temperatures, would sweep across the eastern two-thirds of the country through Sunday and into next week.

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Flight disruptions have been significant, with more than 4,000 flights cancelled on Saturday and over 9,400 originally scheduled for Sunday across the US.

Describing the storm as“historic”, US President Donald Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations for South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia on Saturday.

Power outages are rising, with over 160,000 customers, mostly in Louisiana and Texas, reported without electricity as of 10.17 pm EST, according to PowerOutage.

In response, the US Department of Energy issued an emergency order allowing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generation at data centres and other critical facilities to help prevent widespread blackouts.

The US National Weather Service warned of an unusually large and long-lasting winter storm expected to bring heavy ice accumulation in the Southeast, with“crippling to locally catastrophic impacts” possible.

Forecasters also predicted record cold temperatures and low wind chills spreading into the Great Plains by Monday.

Inputs from AFP

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