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Tropical Cyclone Matmo/Bulbul - Oct 2019

Status
Past
Countries
Bangladesh
+ 6 more
Disaster types
Tropical Cyclone
+ 1 more

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). (ECHO, 30 Oct 2019)

Tropical depression MATMO was moving into Cambodia from Vietnam on 31 October and is expected to bring heavy rain to the central part of Thailand, where temperatures are also dropping over next few days. Strong winds and heavy rains have resulted in power loss and damaged buildings and houses in the southern central provinces of Binh Din and Phú Yên, Vietnam. The authorities evacuated around 15,000 households to safer places. A considerable rise of the water level of Rivers in Phú Yên, including Cai River have been observed representing a high flooding risk. In Quang Ngãi Province, many houses were damaged and trees were uprooted, particularly in local southern districts. (ECHO, 1 Nov 2019)

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control of Vietnam reported, that Typhoon Matmo has destroyed 179 houses, damaged 2,314 buildings and 35 schools in the provinces of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Gia Lai and Thua Thien Hue. As of 4 November, 1 person is reported missing, 14 people have been injured and 20,000 displaced. (ECHO, 4 Nov 2019)

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...with maximum sustained winds of 93 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 district in Bangladesh, which hosts close to a million refugees. (ECHO, 7 Nov 2019)

The severe cyclonic storm ‘Bulbul’ has intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm as it moves towards the West Bengal and Bangladesh coast. The system is likely to intensify further before turning north-east across the West Bengal - Bangladesh coast between Sagar Islands and Khepupara, across Sundarbans delta on 10 November with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 km/h to 135 km/h. Heavy to very heavy rain and strong winds are forecast over West Bengal and Odisha coasts in India, and Khulna and Barisal divisions in Bangladesh over the next 4 days. (ECHO, 8 Nov 2019)

As of 10 November, the system has weakened to a Cyclonic Storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 80-90 km/h and centred over Southwestern part of Bangladesh. It is expected to further move northeasterly direction and weaken gradually. (ECHO, 10 Nov 2019)

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. (ECHO, 11 Nov 2019)

After Tropical Cyclone BULBUL's passage on 9-10 November, the number of fatalities has increased to 24 (12 in India and 12 in Bangladesh). According to DG ECHO and UN OCHA, 28 people are still missing in Bangladesh, 71 have been injured and 2,106,918 have been evacuated to 5,787 evacuation centres. A total of 50,287 houses have been damaged or destroyed and more than 60,000 ha of crops have been affected. For the next 24 hours, light to moderate rain is expected across South Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as BULBUL moves slightly east-northeast, weakening to a low-pressure area. (ECHO, 12 Nov 2019)

As of 14 November, the government, media and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) reported 722,674 people have been affected. More than 150,000 houses have been damaged by the cyclone. Furthermore there are 117,795 hectares of affected crops. Field assessment team confirmed that immediate needs are repairing shelter and provisioning for basic needs assistance. (IFRC, 14 Nov 2019)