Tropical Cyclone Matmo Struck Coastal China Bringing Widespread Evacuations

Typhoon Matmo made landfall on the southern shores of China on the weekend, following its passage over the island province of Hainan. The severe weather forced the relocation of approximately 350,000 people, bringing heavy downpours and destructive gusts, especially between Wuchuan in Guangdong and Wenchang in Hainan. Boat transport were suspended and air travel disrupted at the airport in Haikou.

Typhoon Statistics

Matmo, this year's 21st typhoon of the year, had sustained wind speeds of 94mph and dumped more than 50mm of precipitation in a short period in Qinzhou and Chongzou. Urban areas of the region also experienced significant rain amounts.

Matmo prompted China's highest-level red alert, with disturbances in Zhanjiang, where commercial activities, transport links and roads were shut. In Hong Kong, 100 flights were affected and 30 cancelled.

Forecast and Movement

As Matmo moves inland towards the provincial area in Vietnam, it is expected to diminish into a less intense system with 55mph winds but will persist to bring heavy rainfall. Vietnam's northern regions could experience 130-150mm on Monday, increasing the risk of flooding and mudslides. The weather pattern is expected to move towards Yunnan region in China, where further heavy rainfall is likely.

Other Storm Systems

At the same time, Hurricane Priscilla developed off the Pacific shoreline of Mexico on Saturday night, first as a tropical storm. It led to a storm watch for south-western regions from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita on the start of the week.

In the early hours of the next day, Priscilla was about 491 kilometers from a Mexican cape with continuous gusts of 105km/h. It strengthened into a hurricane in the night, when sustained winds reached at 121km/h.

Although unlikely to make landfall, the storm is expected to produce dangerous waves and rip currents as it moves north-west along the coast towards Baja California Sur. Heavy rainfall is forecast on Monday, amounting to a considerable volume in specific Mexican states, with local totals at about 200mm. Other regions could face moderate to heavy rain.

In other parts, Cyclone Shakhti has developed as the initial post-season cyclonic storm of 2025 in the Arabian Sea, causing an alert from the national weather agency for Maharashtra. On that day, Shakhti was 209 kilometers south-east of Ras al Hadd, Oman with maximum sustained winds of 64mph.

The storm, which has moved south-westward and weakened, is predicted to recurve eastward into the the sea. Rough seas are likely to persist along the coastal stretch and heavy rainfall is anticipated in shoreline areas including specific Indian cities.