On 28 October, a tropical depression formed near Palau, being named Matmo by the Japan Meteorological Agency on 30 October. It quickly intensified into a severe tropical storm, packing winds up the 60 mph as it approached the Vietnamese coast. A quick moving storm, it made landfall in Vietnam on the same day, bringing lots of strong wind and heavy rain, causing moderate flooding and many road closures in the country. Not too long after landfall in Vietnam, it weakened into a tropical depression, later degenerating into a remnant low as its low-level circulation dissipated. On November 2, the remnants of Matmo emerged into the northern Andaman Sea. Meteorological agencies began to show interest in the system as it slowly began to reorganize and develop, with a new low-level circulation forming from it on November 4. It then fully reformed into a depression on November 5. Upon strengthening into a cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department assigned the name Bulbul. It continued intensifying and increasing in speed for the next three days, however still slowly moving north and prompting the IMD to issue coastal warnings for Bangladesh and West Bengal of India and prohibit all fishermen activity, beach activity, and boating in and around the Bay of Bengal. About a day later, Bulbul made landfall near Sagar Island in West Bengal around 18:30 GMT on 9 November, killing at least two people and weakening back to a Severe Cyclonic Storm as it interacted with land and unleashed a high storm surge. Not too long after this land interaction, Bulbul rapidly weakened into a deep depression the next day as it began to move over Bangladesh, however still causing very heavy rains.
Preparations
Bangladesh
Ahead of Bulbul's landfall, Bangladeshi officials ordered 2.1 million people to evacuate coastal areas. Due to the cyclone, all the JSC–JDC examinations of 9, 11 and 12 November and National University examination of 9 November were suspended. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority suspended all sorts of activities at three maritime ports and riverine transport services during the cyclone. All flights to and from Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, Barisal, Jashore domestic airports were cancelled for 14 hours owing to the inclement weather under the influence of the cyclone. Health department officials in these districts formed 1,599 teams to attend to those affected by the cyclone. Around 56,000 volunteers were deployed to conduct rescue and relief efforts while the military bases at the coastal districts remain on alert. All coastal infantries of the Bangladesh Army prepared to take immediate action to provide assistance during and post cyclonic destruction. The Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Coast Guard prepared to undertake emergency rescue and relief operations with warships and vessels.
Impact and aftermath
Bangladesh
The cyclone caused severe damage across coastal Bangladesh, resulting in the deaths of 25 people. In the Khulna District, 9,455 homes were destroyed and 37,820 were damaged. Across the Bagerhat District, 8,788 homes were destroyed and 35,779 were damaged. The nation's agriculture industry was severely affected, with of farmland—roughly 14 percent of the nation's total farmland—was damaged. Approximately 72,000 metric tons of crops were lost, with a total value of Tk 2.63 billion.
In Odisha, the cyclone's outer bands produced heavy rain and squalls, causing agricultural damage, uprooting trees, and knocking down power lines. Although, as part of rescue, around 350 local villagers in the district of Balesore were taken to cyclone shelters as the storm neared. An estimated of crops were damaged statewide. Two people died in storm-related incidents.
West Bengal
Bulbul's landfall in West Bengal around the Sunderban Dhanchi forest brought extremely heavy rain and winds up to 135 km/h across much of the southern portion of the state. A 59-year-old man was killed after being electrocuted by a lamp post, and another was killed due to a collapsed wall. Before the cyclone even made landfall, however, a man was killed after a cedar tree branch fell on top of him. Fallen trees caused road blockages across the city of Kolkata as well, and members of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation removed these blockages. Operations at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata were suspended for 12 hours. Throughout West Bengal, approximately 3.5 million people were directly affected by the cyclone; 14 people died in storm-related incidents. A total of 517,535 homes and of crops were damaged or destroyed, with losses reaching Rs 238.11 billion. West Bengal's Public Health Engineering department distributed 435,000 tarpaulins and 620,000 water containers in the affected areas.
