CWA retracts Orchid Island record wind speed claim

Taipei, Oct. 31 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) retracted its claim that Orchid Island had recorded Taiwan's highest-ever sustained wind speed Thursday, saying that in fact, it wasn't even close.

Earlier on Thursday, the CWA reported that Orchid Island, off Taiwan's southeast coast, had measured a sustained wind speed of 213 kilometers per hour, which it said was the highest ever at a staffed weather station.

The wind speeds were calculated based on a sustained 10-minute average, as Typhoon Kong-rey bore down on Taiwan from the southeast.

However, in a correction issued later Thursday morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said that after double-checking historical data, Thursday's wind speeds were still "quite a ways from" being a record.

Indeed, Thursday's wind speeds weren't even the highest on record for Orchid Island.

According to CWA data, Chu said, the highest sustained wind speeds ever recorded in Taiwan - both on Orchid Island - were 269 kph during Typhoon Betty in May 1961, and 253 kph during Typhoon June in August 1961.