One of the nation’s top weather forecasters will retire early next month in a move that some say could be the result of the heavy criticism the bureau has faced recently, media reports said yesterday.
After 30 years of service at the Central Weather Bureau (CWB), senior forecaster and chief of the weather forecast center Daniel Wu (吳德榮) is set to retire.
“Wu’s retirement is not only a loss for the bureau, but for the country as well,” bureau Director Shin Tzay-chyn (辛在勤) said as he confirmed news of Wu’s retirement yesterday.
“The public often accused the bureau of not providing accurate forecasts after Taiwan suffered serious damage from several typhoons in the past two years. This kind of atmosphere can be frustrating for forecasters,” he said.
Shin said that despite the bureau’s best efforts to provide accurate forecasts, continued criticism may have been the reason behind the 56-year-old Wu’s decision to leave the bureau nine years before his legal retirement age.
Wu first tendered his resignation when the bureau was criticized for making inaccurate forecasts after Typhoon Kalmaegi devastated parts of southern and central Taiwan in July last year, the United Evening News said.
He stayed because then-bureau chief Hsin Chiang-lin (辛江霖) did not approve his resignation.
However, Wu applied for retirement again when the bureau was criticized by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), academics and the public regarding its forecasts for Typhoon Morakot in August, which brought rainfall that far surpassed predictions by the bureau, causing landslides and flooding that killed more than 700 people.
Wu’s mother had just passed away at the time, but he stayed on the job and only took care of his mother’s funeral after Morakot had departed.
Even more frustrating for Wu was the Control Yuan’s investigation of forecasters, the report said.
After attempts to convince Wu to stay, Shin approved his retirement application, effective on Nov. 2.
Packing his personal belongings in the office on Tuesday, Wu did not say much about his early retirement, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
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