More than 3,800 hurricane evacuees arrived in South Florida on Tuesday courtesy of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
The bulk of the evacuees aboard Adventure of the Seas were from Puerto Rico, with almost 900 from St. Croix and St. John and almost 700 from St. Thomas, according to WTVJ.
While in Puerto Rico, the ship also picked stranded cruise crew members and tourists to bring them home, according to WSVN.
Yaima Escobar was one of the relatives waiting at Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades to welcome six relatives from Puerto Rico.
"They are very sad," Escobar told WSVN, "very sad to leave the house and leaving everything back, not knowing when you're going back -- if you are going back."
Disaster relief centers for the evacuees have been set up at international airports in Orlando and Miami, as well as one at Port Miami.
Royal Caribbean canceled another cruise so it could take part in this relief mission, WSVN reported.
Credit: Carlos Giusti
Credit: Carlos Giusti
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