{"id":329753,"date":"2026-05-05T21:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=329753"},"modified":"2026-05-05T21:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:54:08","slug":"dubai-influencer-thought-uae-strikes-were-one-off-in-safest-place-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/dubai-influencer-thought-uae-strikes-were-one-off-in-safest-place-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Dubai influencer thought UAE strikes were ‘one-off’ in ‘safest place’ | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>
Melody Ann Thomas has lived within the UAE for greater than six years. (Picture: TikTok\/@allthingsmelodyx)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An influencer living within the UAE insists it\u2019s still the \u2018safest place\u2019 following a spate of strikes on the nation.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s Ministry of Defence accused Iran of launching an attack featuring a dozen ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 4 drones on yesterday. <\/p>\n

The country is now responding to further \u2018missile threats\u2019.<\/p>\n

Melody Ann Thomas lives and works in Dubai and shares glimpses of her life there on social media.<\/p>\n

She told Metro<\/strong>: \u2018On May 4, we received [an alert] again for the primary time for the reason that ceasefire, and that completely caught me off guard.<\/p>\n

\u2018I used to be sitting in my office on a high floor surrounded by glass windows, and I just froze. I used to be hoping it could be a one-off.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tEnroll for all of the newest stories\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Smoke\t<\/div>
Smoke rises within the port area of Dubai following an Iranian drone strike on March 1, 2026. (Picture: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However it wasn\u2019t. Last night, Thomas received five more alerts. \u2018There\u2019s definitely an underlying tension that didn\u2019t exist before. It has shifted people\u2019s perspective,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n

In a video posted to TikTok today, Thomas \u2013 who works for an investment company \u2013 said school and university classes can be held online until not less than the top of this week. <\/p>\n

She said: \u2018No matter how you’re feeling about it, these are the facts. Missiles, drones, all of this, shouldn’t be a traditional situation, and it\u2019s all the time higher secure than sorry.\u2019<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old, originally from Virginia within the US, began posting to the social media platform about her life within the UAE during strikes on the country earlier this yr.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"An\t<\/div>
A hearth near Dubai International Airport on March 16, 2026. (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She added: \u2018I used to be getting bombarded with messages from family and friends back home. It felt like a great strategy to share what was actually happening on the bottom and provides a more realistic perspective.<\/p>\n

\u2018When debris from an intercepted drone hit a residential constructing in Dubai Marina, it made the situation feel rather more real.<\/p>\n

\u2018That was the purpose where my family was not comfortable with me staying. Thankfully, some flights had began to grow to be available, and I booked a one-way ticket to Thailand.<\/p>\n

\u2018I ended up staying for about five weeks until things calmed down. When the ceasefire was announced, it felt like a collective sense of relief and a return to normalcy.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"UAE\t<\/div>
Thomas says she still feels secure after receiving five emergency alerts in a single evening. (Picture: TikTok\/@allthingsmelodyx)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Monday\u2019s attacks are the primary on the UAE since Iran\u2019s ceasefire cope with the US was reached on April 8.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Thomas says she still feels secure and doesn\u2019t \u2018really associate the UAE\u2019 with the \u2018form of disruption\u2019 it has experienced over the previous couple of months.<\/p>\n

\u2018To be transparent, I ended up selecting Dubai because I couldn\u2019t get a piece visa within the UK. London was the goal.<\/p>\n

\u2018Looking back, all of it worked out the best way it was meant to. I like Dubai for its safety and sunshine 360 days a yr.<\/p>\n

\u2018For me, feeling secure comes all the way down to clear communication and transparency. When individuals are informed and understand what\u2019s happening, it helps reduce uncertainty and panic.<\/p>\n

\u2018Ultimately, Dubai has grow to be my home by selection, and I genuinely love living here. Day-to-day, it\u2019s still certainly one of the safest places I\u2019ve ever lived.<\/p>\n

\u2018But that doesn\u2019t erase the indisputable fact that earlier this yr, missiles were being intercepted overhead each day.\u2019<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: US gives verdict on if it has Kamikaze dolphins within the Strait of Hormuz<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Sailors stranded in Strait of Hormuz for months \u2018eager to hug families\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Iranian exiles fear being on \u2018pro-regime kill lists\u2019 after being doxed on Telegram<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tComment now<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg><\/span>
\n\t\t\tComments<\/span>
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg><\/span>
\n\t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source<\/span>
\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n
\n
\n

News Updates<\/h4>\n

Stay on top of the headlines with each day email updates.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melody Ann Thomas has lived within the UAE for greater than six years. (Picture: TikTok\/@allthingsmelodyx) An influencer living within the UAE insists it\u2019s still the \u2018safest place\u2019 following a spate of strikes on the nation. The country\u2019s Ministry of Defence accused Iran of launching an attack featuring a dozen ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":329754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[2783,4001,395,13706,2012,35911,11344,6015,11941,813],"class_list":["post-329753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-dubai","tag-influencer","tag-news","tag-oneoff","tag-place","tag-safest","tag-strikes","tag-thought","tag-uae","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329753"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329756,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329753\/revisions\/329756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}