GUANGZHOU, China, 5th October, 2025 Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, made landfall at 2:50 p.m. local time today along the eastern coast of Xuwen County in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province. The typhoon had maximum sustained wind speeds of 151 kph.
Authorities in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan launched top-level emergency responses. Over 197,000 people were evacuated in Hainan, more than 150,000 in Guangdong, and 26,000 tourists were cleared from Weizhou Island. Coastal ferry routes were suspended, and nearly 900 ships were secured across the region.
The typhoon is moving west-northwest and is expected to weaken after crossing into the Beibu Gulf later today. Heavy rain and storms are forecast. Matmo arrives during China’s National Day holiday travel rush, with an estimated 2.36 billion trips expected over the eight days.
South China’s Guangdong Province has raised its typhoon emergency response to the highest level as Typhoon Matmo intensified, with cumulative evacuations exceeding 150,000 people to ensure safety, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
The storm had maximum sustained wind speeds of 151 kph (94 mph) on Sunday morning, according to China’s National Meteorological Center. It is expected to make landfall around midday. The weather authority issued a red level typhoon warning, the highest in its system.
Authorities are also warning of heavy rain, with rainfall expected to hit 100 to 249 mm in some parts.
The provincial flood control headquarters upgraded the response to Level I on Sunday morning. By Saturday evening, a total of 151,352 residents had been relocated, including 9,916 from maritime areas.
Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, moving northwest at about 25 km per hour, is forecast to make landfall around noon as a severe typhoon with winds of up to 45 meters per second. Heavy rain and storms are expected in coastal cities.
In preparation, the city of Zhanjiang has implemented a full-scale shutdown of classes, work, production, transport and businesses since Saturday evening, and closed all highways from Sunday morning. Maritime authorities have suspended operations in affected waters, with rescue resources deployed across the region.
China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response, and a four-tier weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
