updated news bulletin - part 8: is it a hit and run?

So far the only indications that we have had is that it is heading directly to Southern Iranian territory. The metrology centre has had very conflicting pieces of information regarding Cyclone GONU.

There has been news of dirt roads falling apart due to the heavy rains and there has been some damages (somewhere in Oman) where some houses were taked out from their routes. It seems as though these houses had been made from wood and were very close to the shores. Thankfully, though, no loss of lives has been claimed due to that happening.

Right now in Muscat, heavy rains downpour continues accompanied by strong winds although it seems as though it has quietened down just a bit right now.

There have been rumors spreading that the Cyclone is heading back towards the Muscat shores. This is not true, however. As sattelite images show that it is staying the Gulf of Oman on a route towards Iran.

The local telecom company Nawras, has been updating its subscribers all through the night and day today of any emergency messages from the proper authorities. Keeping its subscribers posted about every development. It is unknown whether the Oman Mobile team is doing the same.

All the hospitals have been on high alert along with 7,000 personnel of the army awaiting orders to scramble to the rescue. The army has evacuated both Masirah and Halaniyat Islands habitants to the Muscat governate until the storm brews over.

According the BBC World Service website, the image the news medium has provided says that Muscat should be expecting another heavy rainshower along with strong winds by 2am Thursday by which at 2pm Thursday it will have moved out of Oman territory between the UAE and Iran.

The Police have urged all citizens and residents who stay nearby the shores to move further inland or safer higher ground as soon as possible for fear of their safety.

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Links:

- Yahoo: Muscat Weather update

- BBC World: in pictures: Cyclone hits Oman

- CNN.com: Rare rains lash Gulf desert states

- Omanforum: Tropical Cyclone to hit Muscat tomorrow

- Oman Tribune: Cyclone Gonu hits Sultanate coast

updated news bulletin - part 7: impact

The rain has not stopped since last night 1am Oman Main Time accompanied by strong winds. It seems as though that the sea has come out to join in on the calamity party by going inland up to 300 meters in Athaiba, Seeb and Shatti Al Qurum.

So far, there is no damage report about the situation but it has been rumored that some 16 Indian nationals have been saved from drowning somewhere on the coast. Airport flights have been cancelled mostly but hopefully all will be restored when the storm brews over.

We've had some power disconnections during the night which is the reason why I haven't slept at all in addittion to the sound of the downpour outside on the street.

There have been reports also that now the storm is moving along directly to Iran. But will pass by the coast of Muscat around 12 noon (around 2 and a half hours from now). With all this rain there is a certainty that there has been floods around the Muscat area but unknown even now.

The Royal Oman Police has warned the residents of Muscat to go further inland and preferrably to higher grounds before the eye of the storm passes by Muscat to lessen the casualties to a minimum. They have also asked everyone in Muscat not to venture the street amidst the stormy weather during this period unnecessarily for fear over their lives.

The BBC has updated its news report on Oman with a video, to view it, click here. For an overview over the situation at the airports, click here.

brief break..

I will take a break by trying to sleep for some 8 hours or less.

I should have some new updates by the time I come back.

Meanwhile, don't hesitate to drop your comments, suggestions, queries or anything you feel you may need to share with the public here.
May God have mercy on us all..

updated news bulletin - part 6: ground zero

It has just started to rain here in our area in the Muscat region for about 20-30 minutes with a strong breeze.

Since it is night-time, nothing can actually been seen at all.

We have told that such signs are the beginning of the storm's presence in the area. From hereon, it should be at least another 3-4 hours until it hit peak levels.

Rains here have been moderate to drizzly so far but haven't stopped since the minute they started.

There has been a report of grounding several airlines such as Oman Air, Gulf Air and Air India - but no such word about closing down the airport. These flights could take off in the morning and possibly moved to Salalah's Civil Airport, the report says. (Gulf News)

CNN.com has presented a very thorough report about the Cyclone that is set to change lives if it hits Muscat with full force - to read it, click here. Alternatively, you can watch the video that was posted on the same news site here.

updated news bulletin - part 5

Fortunately for the residents and citizens of Muscat the weather is a standstill with a lot of humidity but still no rain showers. The latest weather reports say that Cyclone GONU has in fact hit the Sharqiyah region with heavy rains and it is estimated that it would reach it's peak (i.e.: eye of the storm) in 3 hours time.

So far, there has no reports of any damage in the Wilayat of Sur where the rains are the heaviest since its downpour around 3:30pm this afternoon. It has been said that it has started to head for Ras Al Hadd and that along that it would come along the coastal area of the Gulf of Oman and ultimately into Iranian territory.

Cyclone GUNO has been reported that it would have 3 signs to idenitfy it; heavy rains, strong winds; and large waves. The eye of the storm is where the Cyclone will reach it's peak which would be around 200Kmph. It is hoped that the Cyclone would skew off it's path as it did with both the Masirah and Halaniyat Islands.

The weather beaurea headquarters of the Civil Aviation Services has said that if affected at all, that Muscat would only feel the wrath of heavy downpour exceeding 150mm in a 24 hour period while the entire length of the Cyclone is due to last for 3 days until Saturday morning. It is unsaid, though, if this period would exceed due to the length of the Cyclone's period.

The Cyclone will have an indirect impact on the neighboring GCC countries such as the United Arab Emirates - where in Fujairah it has already had its affect with heavy floods - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, too along with Yemen in the south.

The police have urged the citizens of the Sultanate to stay at least 1.5 Km from the coastline and to change their residence by moving in with relatives or friends should they fear for their lives. The Police have also asked anyone in the country who fear the calamity to call up their emergency number 9999.

Stocking up on provisions is a good idea to stay away as much as possible out of harm's way and to keep everything that is needed at arm's length.

Please do not leave your home for any unnecessary reasons except if it is an emergency. You will be endangering yourself and the lives of others should you do so.

Lastly, Cyclone GONU should have some sort of effect on the weather in Muscat around 2am Wednesday early morning.
Please stay safe and stay in groups. Pray that this blows over peacefully.

updated news bulletin - part 4

There have been a few updates from the international media on the situation and it's escalation in the Sultanate of Oman:

- BBC World Service: Thousands flee Oman storm threat

- Gulf News: Cyclone Gonu to hit land

- Muscat prepares for Gonu's arrival

- Google: Cyclone Gonu Oman

- Al Shabiba: full Cyclone Gonu cover (in Arabic)


Another updated news bulletin will follow..

updated news bulletin - part 3

Here are the developments so far on the situation of the Sultanate of Oman being in the path of Cyclone GONU:

• The cyclone has changed its course to move directly towards Muscat and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
• Cyclone speed has now been variating between 18-10-14Kmph.
• The cyclone is on a steady course across the coastline of the Sharqiyah region and has caused large waves that are 10-12 meters high.
• It was estimated that the cyclone would hit Muscat by 5pm and now offical weather beareu is now saying that it should hit Muscat by nightfall with heavy showers and strong winds.
• So far there have been no reported casualties or deaths nor loss of property or damage to it as an after-effect of Cyclone GONU.
• It is predicted that should the cyclone actually come to Muscat that it would bring in 150 mm downpour of rains in a 24 hour period. The last greatest downpour in the history of the Sultanate was during 1977 in Masirah - 400 mm - where 700 lives were claimed.
• If affected, Muscat residents and citizens would have to sit tight in their homes for no less than 3 days, the longevity period of the cyclone.
• The Civil Defense Emergency Council has ordered all ministries and companies to give their employees a forced vacation. His Majesty has ordered a vacation in consideration to circumstances in the government sector up until Sunday, 10th June.
• The General Let. Chief of the Royal Oman Police, Malik Al Maamary, has ordered some 7,000 personnel to be on full alert for emergency needs after the cyclone moves over Oman.
• Both Seeb and Salalah International Airports will be closed if the situation seems to be detoriating any further within a period of 36 hours.
• There is a remote possibility that Cyclone GONU will just pass by the coast of Muscat going on towards the Gulf of Oman.
• All establishments in Oman - as I know and visit - have been shut down, save for the necessities; super/hypermarkets.

Will be updating the blog with a video on the situation soon enough..

updated news bulletin - part 2

Suburban has posted a set of instructions and measures to be taken in cases of emergencies like this on her blog which you can get by clicking here. I would like to thank Suburban for her generosity for sharing this information with me and the rest of the blogosphere.

Kay has also posted about the increasingly alarming situation in Oman as Cyclone GUNO changes its course directly towards Muscat instead of Masirah and Halaniyat. To read the details, click here.


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Links:

- Gulf News: Cyclone Gonu could hit Turtle nesting area

- Gulf News: Cyclone reaches Omani coast

- Times of Oman: Cyclone may hit Oman

- Al Watan: Sultanate declares emergency state to face Class 4 Cyclone Gonu (in Arabic)

- Al Shabiba: Weather Services: Cyclone Gonu moving to the Sultanate at 18Kmph with heavy rains, gusts, and high waves (in Arabic)

- Al Shabiba: Civil Defense Emergency Committee declares emergency to battle out tropical Cyclone (in Arabic)

updated news bulletin

Due to the emergency state that the country has been put into because of Cyclone JONU, I will have an update every now and then about the situation here in Muscat and what I know of in the lands that mostly affected like the Sharqiyah region, the Halaniyat and Masirah Islands, too..

Thus, if I don't carry anything else within these 4 days, I ask that you forgive me.

I feel I am more in service by republishing the news as we get it or as I see it here in Muscat in specific and in the Sultanate in general.

Thank you for your understanding..

Gulf News reports on GONU hitting Oman

The Gulf News, situated in the United Arab Emirates has a report on the dreadful upcoming disaster of Cyclone JONU.
Read more..

new Transformers poster

The IESB has released this picture amongst a set of pictures for the upcoming summer blockbuster TRANSFORMERS.

Cyclone GONU

You've all no doubt heard about Cyclone JONU by now and how it is going to have an impact on the Sultanate.

Below are some of the links that are provided to show what can be easily said, the worst weather to ever hit the Sultanate of Oman in the last 27 years.

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Links:

- Omanforum: Tropical storm to hit Muscat tomorrow Tuesday (5th June)

- Times of Oman: Storm East of Arabian Sea forecast

- Al Watan: Tropical storm East of Arabian Sea (in Arabic)

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Stay safe people..

70% again

I got my results for the test that I took last Saturday over the subjects of Motor Insurance and Health Insurance.

I got another 70%.

Steady as she goes, hey?

And I thought I had done terribly bad because that test was so damn hard.
What a relief..

me against society

I see no shame in standing up firmly for what I believe in. Even if it means going against the majority. Because - as a friend of mine would have put it - 'I see the facts through my eyes as the truth as does everyone else'.

Personal choices are just those - personal.

That is why I have come to an understanding that the reason I am not moving on ahead with my life is because I have head buried with ideas that inconclusive, illogical, and meaningless.

I have been taking lessons all my life in order to reach other's expectations of me. I have been pushing and fighting for my right to live the way I should and want to. Yet, I still get told that I am still not up to par with the standards set in the minds of the people who think 'so greatly' of me.

I have been pushing forward now to seek society's and community's appreciation that I am a producing individual. But society couldn't care less. In fact, it spits in my face because it is never satisfied.

I live by laws of those who seek materialistic features in their lives more than they do of their own satisfaction of a job well done, or the satisfaction of having to love their job because they actually chose it.

I was one of those, until today.

Today would be the day things in my life are going to change forever. I would see to that. And let no one stand in my way simply because I have in my mind what I would want to do and set forth the path of steadiness and stability in my life.

summer article #1: this is the world we live in

Unfortunately, the time has come for us to think more and more about out actions and what we say and do behind the walls and doors of our own private courts simply because the world we now live in is no longer the world we recognize.

I know that most of you who read my blog regularly would have some kind of questionable look on your faces because of that comment only because I wrote not too long ago on this very blog about me and my philosophical look towards the world we live in by saying that 'the world we live in has not changed, it us who have changed because we are more aware of it now". And that statement stands true today as it stood on that day.

It is because we so much aware of what goes in our lives and the world that surrounds us that we fear the inevitable. The fear of having to come face to face with what we have to in the future - near or far. Thus us trying in every way possible to push it further away.

Some of us take up a hobby to pass the time so as not to think about it. Others enjoy writing on what is on their minds contemplating the troubles that they would have to face in order to find out some sort of solution in the exercise to put at ease the mind's troubles. Others just think on and on and do nothing whatsoever.

No matter what the issue is here, you would rather see yourself running away than looking at the problem eye to eye. Even though you work on the issues that do run in your way, you still end up escaping from the reality that you yourself are trying to get away from.

Look at it this way, you get a job and you start having no time at all for things you want to get focused on. Let's say some rest, some food, some love (the clean type). You end up trying to make some more time in order for yourself to have an escape route show itself in your path so you can route for it at the nearest possibility. That's escapology.

The ill choices concieved by the human mind are the cause of this mental mayhem. They push us to make the mistakes that we wished we never would do. They ask us to do what we said we would never attempt to do unless there was no option. The economy that we live in expects us to be a part of the producing clan. The one who can rise up at 6am come back at 7pm with no complain whatsoever. It expects us to be robots. The type that would push on further and further and always asking for more. Something more of a dream; is it not?

The power to fulfill one's needs is to attain the ability to move in the right direction otherwise your whole mind, body and entire soul might push you to hallucinations, dildrums, and illusions that you are living 'the dream of your life'. Which you are truly not.

The ill choices that we conceive as human beings must be rectified. The expectations that we choose should be our own and not the society's. Not the family's. Not the world's. It should be our own little 'gem'.

Because, in the end, who are we really doing it all for?

Us.

Prince of Perisa: Sands of Time movie script leaked

Guess what?

The most anticipated movie adaptation of a game by both Disney and infamous producer Bruckheimer - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - script has been leaked.

It seems such a shame to spoil the surprise, though.

But if you can't wait to know what goes on in Act 1 of the upcoming expected blockbuster of a movie then you should click here right away.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is expected to be released by Disney by summer 2009 or spring 2010.

Muscat Municipality starts spreading the night shopping concept

Not so long ago, I had posted a small post that related to the issues that Muscat Municapility is taking consideration for further development of the economic and tourist status in Oman.

Muscat Municipality has now reached its goal of planning ahead the project in the Muscat region only, obviously. It seems they had not looked into the issues that I had raised up during that period.

The project is planned to commence in five areas in the Muscat governate. These 5 areas are Seeb, Bowsher, Muttrah, Al Amerat, and Quriyat. The project will provide several Omani handicrafts for sale, some tourist standard restaurants and cafe's, and a widespread area of parking plus the seclusion all these developments will have since they will be in a no-permissable area for driving a vehicle.

Seems all interesting.

But what security issues especially in Muscat.

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Link:

- Muscat Municipality launches the night shopping concept

staying healthy? yeah, right - part 4

This is usually the part that I would say screw everyone who smokes. Mostly because of their stupid decision to smoke even though they mantain the knowledge that smoking is a main cause of lung cancer and premature births, too.

But this is actually a post about how I disgust seeing the sight of seeing minors sitting comfortably holding a packet of ciggarettes and a lighter ready to start puffing. I mean we know and mantain the right of smokers to be smokers because they are old enough and are considered responsible enough for their decision - no matter how stupid they may seem.

But what about the minors? What about their starting point?

I promise that if I ever had a child that started to smoke then I would make them promise they would never smoke again and if they're caught again - then it's out into the streets with him/her.

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Get the picture?

SMOKING KILLS!!!

help

They say you only know yourself more when you are in a position of being cornered.

The day that you are pushed as far as your abilities - regardless of whether they are mental or physical - can take you.

I think I have reached this level. I can't seem to take anymore mental torture.

I need help.

public service announcement

I have just been informed that the Sultan Qaboos University, Horizon newsletter will only be published once a month during the summer period.

This is mainly due the wide vacation period that both the students and the faculty within the University uptake for their annual leaves from studying. This would mean that there would be a dramatic decrease in the number of readers to any of the University's internal newsletters.

So, I take this opportunity also to my advantage by publishing my own stories that would also include matters of importance in my perspective for your enjoyment on the same dates you would see my actual articles.

I thought you should all be aware of this temporary stand in the situation.

Cheers..