At the directives of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, 31 Bahrainis including families were evacuated safely to Atlanta, Washington and other areas before the destructive Typhoon Irma hit the populous US southern state of Florida.

Speaking to Al Ayam newspaper, Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa, the Ambassador of Bahrain to the United States said "Most of the Bahrainis evacuated from the affected areas were students or others who sought medical treatment, pointing out that the difficulties that faced the embassy were confined to hotel room availability or arrangement of return flights for some of them to Bahrain."

Shaikh Abdullah ruled out that there were any Bahrainis remaining in Florida thanks to the directives of HM the King and the embassy’s prompt response by evacuating Bahrainis, ensuring their safety and fulfilling their needs. The embassy has not received any new calls from any Bahraini asking for help, which proves that there were no more additional cases left there, he added.

Irma reportedly hit Florida beaches compelling six million people - i.e. a quarter of the US state’s population, to flee their areas to avoid the disastrous impact of the grade-five typhoon.