Typhoon Matmo has intensified over the upper South China Sea and made landfall in China’s Guangdong province on Sunday, according to the Thai Meteorological Department.
While the storm will not enter Thailand, it is strengthening the southwest monsoon, bringing heavier rain and flash flood risks to northern, northeastern, eastern and southern regions through Oct 7. At 4am Thai time on Sunday, the typhoon had maximum winds near the centre of about 120 kilometres per hour and was moving west-northwest at a speed of around 25km/h.
After Matmo made landfall, it has weakened rapidly as a high-pressure system from China pushes southward between Oct 6 and 7, the department said.
However, Matmo will strengthen the southwest monsoon over Thailand’s Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, bringing more rain across the North and the Northeast, with heavy rainfall in some areas of the East and the western coast of the South until Oct 7.
Residents in at-risk areas are advised to be on alert for flash floods, runoff and overflowing rivers due to heavy and accumulated rainfall.
In the upper Andaman Sea, waves are expected to reach 1–2 metres in height and exceed 2 metres in areas with thunderstorms.
