What happens when the cloud blows up?

I’ve covered cloud computing for a long time, and one of the most persistent myths I encounter is that public clouds exist above the laws of physics that govern everything else in technology. The events coming out of the Middle East should put that myth to rest for good. Reuters reported this week that Amazon Web Services says it cannot restore access to its cloud region in Bahrain and to one of its three data-hosting zones in the United Arab Emirates, following damage during the Iran war.