Tropical Cyclone Gonu

Weird stuff is happening in the Arabian Sea. This is the strongest storm recorded in the Arabian Sea since records began in 1945. It peaked at 160 mph winds, but weakened to a category 1 before hitting Oman. Iran is next in the storm's path. Winds are currently at 70 mph.

It's difficult to find anything about how much damage has been done yet, but the media wishes to reassure you that the oil supply should not be adversely effected. Most of the "news" available at the moment seems to be in the form of pictures. Flooding in some areas is pretty severe. Flash floods are a big concern when a lot of rain falls in a dry area in a short period of time. I'm not hearing much about storm surge, though I would think that would be a problem, too, with a storm that was so powerful at it's peak.

I find it interesting that authorities are using text messages to keep locals up to date and warn them to remain inside until morning. I wonder what kind of system they have set up that allows them to do that. Would we be able to set up something like that here for emergencies? Or would privacy and "big brother" concerns in this country get in the way (for instance, if you had to give you cell phone number out to get on the emergency alert list)?