Overall Red alert Tropical Cyclone for MATMO-19/BULBUL-19
in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam

Event summary

Tropical Cyclone MATMO-19/BULBUL-19 can have a high humanitarian impact based on the maximum sustained wind speed, exposed population and vulnerability.

GDACS ID TC 1000624
Name MATMO-19/BULBUL-19
Glide number: TC-2019-000147-BGD
From - To 29 Oct - 10 Nov
Exposed countries Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam
Exposed population 7.6 million in Category 1 or higher
Maximum wind speed 157 km/h Category 2
Maximum storm surge 3.4 m (10 Nov 02:00 UTC)
Vulnerability High (Bangladesh)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
Wind Storm surge Rainfall GDACS score
GDACS JTWC 83 km/h 3.4 m n.a. 1.5
Single TC: maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge, rainfall)
HWRF 205 km/h 2.6 m 624 mm 2.5
GFS 169 km/h 1.9 m 570 mm 1.5
ECMWF 97 km/h 1.5 m 406 mm 0.5
Maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge and rainfall) using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia - Tropical Cyclone MATMO (ECHO 30 Oct 2019)Wed, 30 Oct 2019 11:07

  • Tropical Cyclone MATMO formed over the South China Sea on 29 October, moving west-northwest towards Vietnam. On 30 October at 0.00 UTC, its centre was approximately 275 km east-southeast of Quy Nhon City (Binh Dinh Province, central Vietnam) with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (tropical storm).
  • MATMO should make landfall on the afternoon of 30 October with maximum sustained winds of 70-75 km/h before weakening to a tropical depression as it moves inland towards north-east Cambodia and southern Laos on 31 October.
  • Heavy rain and strong winds could affect central provinces and north-eastern Cambodia and south-eastern Laos.
  • Evacuation orders are being prepared for those living in areas at high-risk risk of flash floods and landslides and ships are advised not to go out to sea or to return to port. Local mergency response teams and ships are on standby. 
  • A low pressure system will also affect the Kampot and Sihanoukville provinces of southern Cambodia on 1 November. Warnings for heavy rain and floods are in effect. 
Vietnam - Tropical depression MATMO update Mon, 04 Nov 2019 11:04

  • Tropical depression MATMO caused heavy rain, strong winds, floods and landslides between 29 and 31 October. The most affected Provinces are Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ngai.
  • According to media, as of 4 November, 1 person is missing, 14 people have been injured and 20,000 displaced. In adddition, 179 houses have been destroyed, 2,000 damaged and 35 schools were affected.
  • The EU Copernicus EMS was activated in rapid mapping mode (EMSR402) and 2 delineation maps have been produced.
  • For the next 24 hours, heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast over central-western provinces, and localized rain for the south and north parts of the country.
Myanmar, Bangladesh, India - Tropical Cyclone MATMO (ECHO 07 Nov 2019)Thu, 07 Nov 2019 11:02

  • After passing over south-east Asia, Tropical Cyclone MATMO has reformed over the Bay of Bengal. On 7 November its centre was approximately 480 km south-west of Ayeyarwady Region (central-eastern Myanmar), with maximum sustained winds of 93 km/h.
  • Over the next 24 hours, it will move towards West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh, further intensifying and reaching maximum sustained winds up to 139 km/h.
  • On 7-8 November, rain and thunderstorms are forecast over eastern Myanmar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) and strong winds in West Bengal.
  • Preparedness planning is ongoing in the Cox’s Bazar distric in Bangladesh, which hosts close to a million refugees. 
India, Bangladesh - Tropical Cyclone MATMO update Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:50

  • Tropical Cyclone MATMO continued moving northward over the central Bay of Bengal, far off the coast of eastern India. On 8 November at 0:00 UTC, its centre was located approximately 615 km south of Kolkata (West Bengal, India), and approximately 545 km south-west of southwestern coastal area of Bangladesh, with maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h.
  • MATMO is forecast to continue moving north-northeast toward West Bengal and southern Bangladesh, strenghtening, and it could make landfall over southwestern Bangladesh coastal area (approximately 265 km south-west of the capital Dhaka) on 9 November in the afternoon (UTC), with maximum sustained winds of 130-155 km/h.
  • Very heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surges are forecast over eastern Odisha and West Bengal in India, as well as over southern Bangladesh on 8-10 November. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alerts for heavy rainfall and strong winds over West Bengal valid for 9 November.
Bangladesh, India - Tropical Cyclone BULBUL update (ECHO 11 Nov 2019)Mon, 11 Nov 2019 11:11

  • The number of fatalities in West Bengal State (India) and southern Bangladesh has increased to 20, after Tropical Cyclone BULBUL's passage on 9-10 November. 
  • According to media reports, 10 people died in West Bengal, and 2 more deaths were reported in Odisha State (north-east India). Over 26,000 houses were damaged. 
  • In Bangladesh, 8 people died, 15 fishermen are still missing, and at least 30 people are injured. More than 17,000 houses have been damaged and river embankments were breached in Barguna district (Barisal Division, southern Bangladesh). 
  • Disaster response teams from India and Bangladesh have been deployed to the affected areas and food and relief items are being distributed to the population. 
  • After reaching Tripura State (India) on 10 November, Tropical Cyclone BULBUL was downgraded to a tropical depression. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast in Tripura but drier conditions in West Bengal and Bangladesh on 11-12 November.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Storm Nakri weakens, but is dumping heavy rains on the Central Highlan.. 11/11/2019 5:36:00 AM.

Meanwhile AccuWeather says the latest prediction is for landfall somewhere along the coast from Da Nang to Qui Hong later today. “Downpours from Severe Tropical Storm Nakri will increase the risk for flooding across portions of Indochina in
...(more)
Deadly Cyclone Bulbul weakens over Bangladesh 11/10/2019 11:19:00 AM.

Cyclone Bulbul has weakened into a tropical stormafter killing at least three people in and two others in neighbouring Officials in Bangladesh said on Sunday that the worst was over as the wind speeds dropped to between 70 and 80km/h (43 to
...(more)
500,000 evacuated as Cyclone Bulbul makes landfall in Bangladesh 11/10/2019 7:39:00 AM.

Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Bangladeshi authorities ordered about 500,000 people to evacuate ahead of Cyclone Bulbul, which made landfall at midnight Saturday night. The storm, which is also known as Tropical Cyclone Matmo, made landfall in the world's
...(more)
500,000 evacuated as Cyclone Bulbul makes landfall in Bangladesh 11/10/2019 6:28:00 AM.

Bangladeshi authorities ordered about 500,000 people to evacuate ahead of Cyclone Bulbul, which made landfall at midnight Saturday night. The storm, which is also known as Tropical Cyclone Matmo, made landfall in the world's largest mangrov
...(more)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EMSR (2), UNOSAT (1), EC-JRC (38), (2), WMO (1), INFORM (2),