Although the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) received 266 complaints in the past five years about people illegally making weather forecasts and even predicting earthquakes, it issued a fine for only one incident in 2018.
The Meteorological Act (氣象法) states the bureau is the only organization in the nation that can observe and collect meteorological, seismological or marine meteorological data, or issue weather forecasts or issue earthquake reports.
Based on the act, the bureau can provide meteorological and seismological data to government agencies, schools and private institutions “for research and application purposes,” but those needing to modify the information must obtain approval from the bureau, which is authorized to oversee the modification.
In 2018, the bureau stepped up efforts to crack down on illegal weather and earthquake reports following an increase in complaints.
Bureau data showed that it received 266 complaints from the public from 2016 through last year, with 127 reported in 2018 alone.
Of the complaints, 117 were related to the weather and 149 to earthquakes, the data showed.
About 90 percent of earthquake-related complaints were about individuals predicting the occurrence of earthquakes, while 53 percent of weather-related complaints were about people making forecasts without authorization from the bureau, the bureau said.
Sixteen complaints were made about news coverage of the weather, while two were about earthquake coverage, it added.
Weatherrisk Explore Inc general manager Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) received a warning from the bureau for using a chart to forecast extremely heavy rainfall.
He took it down after being notified by the bureau.
Despite multiple complaints, the bureau only issued a NT$200,000 fine to Taiwan Quake Forecast Institute founder Dyson Lin (林湧森) in 2018 for claiming that a bigger earthquake would follow the magnitude 6 quake that hit Hualien County on Feb. 6 of that year, killing 17 people and injuring 291.
The bigger earthquake that Lin predicted never happened, the bureau said, adding that it decided to fine him after he repeatedly ignored its request to come to the bureau to explain himself.
Lin was also the first person fined for breaching the act after the government promulgated it in 1984.
Bureau official Lu Pei-ling (呂佩玲) said most of the earthquake-related complaints came in 2018, which had to with the TV news coverage and online commentaries related to the earthquake in Hualien.
Most of the weather-related complaints were about forecasts for typhoons and extremely heavy rainfall, she said.
As the act prohibits people from forecasting extreme weather, people saying, for example, that “a strong cold wave is coming that would lower temperatures nationwide to 7°C to 8°C” or making similar claims could potentially contravene the act, the bureau said.
“Whenever we receive a complaint, we first verify whether the complaint is legitimate. We then contact the reported persons and ask them to correct the content ... Almost all of them address the issue immediately after we notify them,” Lu said, explaining why so few people had been fined.
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