A donation event held on Saturday at Expo City Dubai as part of the "UAE Stands with Lebanon" campaign collected 200 tonnes of food and relief materials from different social sectors to mitigate the current humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.
The Lebanese are suffering from the impact of the escalating conflict between and Israel and Hezbollah.
The offline donation event was held from 09:00 to 13:00 on Saturday, with about 4,000 volunteers delivering service on site.
"We are very thankful for UAE country to always giving the hope and the support to our people here in UAE. And [we have] to support them even, because if they are supporting us, we need to support them even to help the people pack in the stuff, whatever they need. We [volunteers] are here to help them to package [the stuff which] are going to Lebanon later on," said Lara Khodr, a Lebanese volunteer living in Dubai.
Many Lebanese expatriates also came to show their support for their country.
"[We need] to help everyone in Lebanon, because some of them lost their homes," said 11-year-old Sophia Kerhany.
"The most important [is that] we need ceasefire as soon as possible, because our people are suffering from this massacre that is happening in Lebanon. And please peace always and ceasefire on Lebanon and Gaza at the same time," said Lara Khodr.
The "UAE Stands with Lebanon" campaign was also held on Sunday at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal 1 and Abu Dhabi Ports.
"UAE Stands with Lebanon" campaign donates 200 tonnes of relief supplies to Lebanon
Floodwaters in Lithia, a severely affected area in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida by Hurricane Milton, have not receded yet even four days after the landfall of the hurricane.
Milton hit the west-central coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday night, bringing strong winds, destructive tornadoes, and heavy rains before weakening to a Category 1 as it swiftly barreled across central Florida.
Lithia, situated southwest of Tampa, bore the brunt of the hurricane as it was right in the the path of Milton.
The heavy rainfall triggered by Milton swelled local rivers, resulting in flooding and the submersion of numerous homes, with many areas in Lithia still drenching in floodwaters.
"Milton came through and wrecked it. The storm didn't do too much of the flooding after the fact. About 12 hours after the storm, the water was in my backyard, didn't think it was going to get much higher 36 hours after the storm. Way better than a lot of people behind me, hopefully they're okay behind. But yeah, I got my neighbors. I think they got probably four or five, maybe six feet of water in the house, that yellow house over there," said Vladimir, a resident affected by the floods in Lithia.
Vladimir also said that they have not received any government assistance so far, with only local community organizations offering some food and water to the affected residents.
In parts of western and central Florida, river levels may continue to rise, with multiple areas still under flood alerts.
Rescue agencies caution that the floods are likely to impede the progress of post-disaster relief efforts. By Sunday afternoon, over 840,000 households in Florida were still without power, with almost 30 percent of gas stations unable to provide fuel.
Milton is the fifth hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast so far in 2024, with three of them striking Florida.
Floodwaters linger in Florida's hard-hit area days after Hurricane Milton's landfall
Floodwaters linger in Florida's hard-hit area days after Hurricane Milton's landfall
