Southeast Asia Weather & Natural Hazards Today: Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Nov 3, 2026 · @Paul

By Paul Harrison, Orbis Weather

Mayon Volcano in the Philippines is the main hazard in Southeast Asia on Tuesday, with the national volcano agency saying it may have to raise the alert to Level 4. In Indonesia, rain-driven volcanic mudflows (lahars) at Semeru in East Java and floods in Sumatra continue, while flash-flood warnings cover the mountains of northern Vietnam and thunderstorms are forecast across much of the region.

No tropical cyclone threatens Southeast Asia. Severe Tropical Storm In-Fa lies far east of the Philippines, and Cyclone Murasu was coming ashore in India, on the far side of the Bay of Bengal. This report is current to 7:00 a.m. Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta time (UTC+7) on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, which is 8:00 a.m. in Manila, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (UTC+8) and 7:00 p.m. US Eastern time on Monday, November 2.

Key facts

Tropical cyclones

Two storms are active near the region; neither is forecast to reach Southeast Asian land. PAGASA’s Tuesday forecast mentions no low pressure area (a disturbance that can grow into a cyclone).

PAGASA and JTWC give different wind speeds for In-Fa; JTWC’s figure is a one-minute average. Authorities in Andhra Pradesh planned to move about 30,000 people, Reuters reported.

Floods and heavy rain

Indonesia

Floods hit West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh, with thousands of families affected and some residents evacuated, Berton SP Panjaitan, acting head of data and communications at the national disaster agency BNPB, told an online briefing on Monday. In North Sumatra, 3,157 families were affected in Langkat and 287 in Mandailing Natal. The AHA Centre’s weekly update, citing BNPB, put the number affected in North Sumatra and Aceh in the week to November 1 at about 33,000 people.

At Semeru, a lahar (a flow of volcanic debris and water) lasted six hours from midnight to 6:00 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (UTC+7) on Monday, observer Agastya Rajendra reported, and an embankment broke in Purorejo village, Tempursari district, Lumajang. For Tuesday, the weather agency BMKG put Aceh, North Sumatra and West Java on “siaga” (alert) status for heavy to very heavy rain, with lower-level warnings for most other provinces. In Bali, Buleleng, Jembrana and Tabanan are on siaga status until 8:00 a.m. Central Indonesia Time (UTC+8) Tuesday.

Vietnam

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) issued flash-flood and landslide warnings on Monday for Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Son La and Gia Lai. Its Monday morning bulletin warned of heavy rain, tornadoes, lightning, hail and strong gusts in the north and in eastern provinces from Quang Ngai to Dak Lak. A separate warning of thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail covered the Hanoi area.

Thailand

The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) forecasts more rain and isolated heavy rain in the South, with waves above 2 metres in thunderstorm areas of the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Its seven-day outlook warns people in the South of heavy rain that may cause flash floods, overflows and landslides from November 6 to 8.

Country-by-country weather today

Earthquakes

The table lists the five largest Southeast Asian earthquakes recorded by the US Geological Survey (USGS) in the 48 hours to Monday evening; all were moderate.

Tsunami status: USGS flagged none of these events as having tsunami potential.

Volcanoes

Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol told PTV on Monday that Mayon “remains at alert level 3,” but that monitoring indicators could show an escalation “potentially requiring us to raise the alert level to 4.” The alert was raised to Level 3 after a moderately explosive eruption on October 30.

Haze, fires and air quality

The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) has the southern ASEAN region at Alert Level 2 after a downgrade, and reports moderate to dense smoke plumes over southern Kalimantan and central Sulawesi and smoke haze over southern Papua. In Singapore, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was 63 to 81, in the moderate range, at 6:00 p.m. Monday, and the National Environment Agency (NEA) forecasts 51 to 80 for Tuesday. NEA expects showers over Sumatra, Kalimantan and Singapore through Thursday that could help keep haze suppressed.

What to watch over the next few days

• Mayon: whether Phivolcs raises the alert from Level 3 to Level 4.
• Thailand: TMD warns of severe thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail in the upper country from November 5 to 7, and heavy rain in the South from November 6 to 8; The Nation’s report on TMD’s 5:00 p.m. Monday advisory gave November 7 to 9 for the South.
• Indonesia: the volcano agency’s warning of possible lahars along Besuk Kobokan at Semeru, and BMKG’s heavy-rain warnings for Sumatra and Java.
• In-Fa: JTWC forecasts the storm to curve north and then northeast over open ocean and to become extratropical (losing its tropical structure) around November 5 to 6.
• Philippines: PAGASA expects one to two tropical cyclones to enter or form inside its area of responsibility during November.

About this article

This article summarises official bulletins and news reports. It is not an official warning: readers in affected areas should follow their national weather, volcano and disaster agencies. Wind speeds are converted from knots (1 knot = 1.852 km/h) and distances from nautical miles; where agencies give different figures, each is shown with its source. Earthquake times are converted from USGS records in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Conditions can change quickly after publication.

Frequently asked questions

Will Severe Tropical Storm In-Fa hit the Philippines? In-Fa is outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility and PAGASA has raised no wind signals. JTWC’s forecast track takes it north and then northeast over the open Pacific.

Is it safe to travel near Mayon Volcano? Phivolcs keeps the 6-km Permanent Danger Zone closed and advises aircraft not to fly close to the volcano. It warns of rockfalls, lava flows, pyroclastic density currents (fast clouds of hot gas and rock) and lahars.

What is a lahar, and why is Semeru producing them? A lahar is a fast flow of volcanic ash, rock and water down river channels. At Semeru, heavy rain is washing loose volcanic material into rivers such as Besuk Kobokan, where the volcano agency warns flows could reach 17 km from the summit.

Is haze affecting Singapore today? NEA forecasts Tuesday’s 24-hour PSI in the moderate range, and showers through Thursday could help keep haze down.

Sources

• PAGASA daily weather forecast, 4:00 a.m. Nov 3
• JTWC Western Pacific advisory and North Indian Ocean advisory
• JMA active tropical cyclone list
• Weather Underground: Typhoon In-Fa, JTWC warning 42
• Reuters via 102.7 WBOW: Cyclone Murasu begins making landfall
• BigHaat: Cyclone Murasu landfall, IMD forecast
• Myanmar Department of Meteorology and Hydrology
• Manila Times: Mayon continues to show heightened activity
• Manila Times: Possible Mayon Alert Level 4
• Manila Times: Mayon under Alert Level 3 after eruption
• GMA News: PAGASA sees 1-2 tropical cyclones in November
• AHA Centre weekly disaster update, Oct 26 to Nov 1
• Okezone: Floods hit three Sumatra provinces
• CNN Indonesia: Semeru lahar lasts six hours
• Viva: BMKG heavy-rain warnings
• Koran Jakarta: BBMKG Bali heavy-rain warning
• Vietnam NCHMF forecasts and warnings
• Thai Meteorological Department forecast
• The Nation: Bangkok thundershowers, Nov 2
• The Nation: Hail risk in upper Thailand as South faces very heavy rain
• MetMalaysia thunderstorm warning and national forecast
• NEA Haze Situation Update, Nov 2
• Meteorological Service Singapore fortnightly outlook
• ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre
• USGS earthquake catalogue query