🔗 Share this article

The powerful storm made landfall on the coastal regions of China on Sunday afternoon, following its passage over the provincial island of Hainan. The intense weather forced the relocation of approximately 350,000 residents, bringing heavy downpours and damaging winds, especially between Guangdong's Wuchuan and Hainan's Wenchang. Ferry services were suspended and air travel disrupted at the airport in Haikou.

Typhoon Statistics

The typhoon, this year's 21st cyclone of 2025, had sustained wind speeds of 94mph and poured more than 50mm of precipitation in six hours in Qinzhou and Chongzou. Urban areas of Nanning also experienced significant rain amounts.

The storm prompted China's top-tier red alert, with disturbances in the city, where businesses, transport links and highways were shut. In Hong Kong, 100 flights were impacted and 30 cancelled.

Forecast and Movement

As Matmo moves inland towards the provincial area in Vietnam, it is projected to weaken into a less intense system with 89km/h winds but will continue to bring substantial precipitation. Vietnam's northern regions could experience significant rainfall on Monday, increasing the risk of inundation and landslides. The weather pattern is anticipated to move towards Yunnan region in China, where additional intense rain is probable.

Other Storm Systems

Meanwhile, a hurricane named Priscilla developed off the Pacific shoreline of Mexico on the weekend, initially as a storm system. It prompted a weather alert for south-western regions from a coastal point to another location on the start of the week.

In the morning of the next day, Priscilla was about 305 miles from Cabo Corrientes with continuous gusts of 105km/h. It intensified into a hurricane in the night, when sustained winds peaked at 121km/h.

Though not expected to make landfall, the storm is expected to generate hazardous swells and strong currents as it tracks northwestward along the coast towards a Mexican state. Heavy rainfall is forecast on the coming day, reaching a considerable volume in Michoacán and western Guerrero, with some areas at about 200mm. Colima and western Jalisco could receive 50-100mm.

In other parts, a cyclone named Shakhti has developed as the first post-monsoon cyclonic storm of 2025 in the Arabian Sea, causing an alert from the national weather agency for an Indian state. On that day, Shakhti was 130 miles southeast of Ras al Hadd, Oman with peak wind speeds of 103km/h.

The storm, which has tracked in a southwestern direction and weakened, is forecast to turn towards the east into the Arabian Sea. Rough seas are expected to persist along the coastal stretch and intense rain is expected in shoreline areas including Dwarka, Jamnagar and Surat.