Samsung Halts Galaxy Note 7 Replacement Production Due to Earthquake

Samsung hasn’t had the best luck in the last couple of weeks. And now, it seems, they’ve been hit with even more misfortune.

Around a dozen industrial and manufacturing facilities were forced to halt operations after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook South Korea. The quake, which was detected around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 13, is reportedly the strongest tremor to ever hit the Korean Peninsula, and was followed by a series of additional earthquakes and aftershocks, according to The Korea Herald.

Samsung is one of the major businesses affected by the quake, as the company’s production of precision-molded plastic cases was halted due to a routine, post-earthquake inspection. Some of Samsung’s other factories, including chip-production plants in Giheung and Hwasung, and three photo plants that print chip circuits, were also temporarily stopped, according to PhoneArena.

The Korea-based company conducted the interruptions voluntarily, as a preventative measure. But luckily for Samsung, the interruptions were brief, and the company has stated that they were not long enough to significantly snarl production.

“There was no production shortfall because we temporarily halted the equipment sensitive to vibration and the assembly resumed the operation after the inspection,” a Samsung official announced, adding that the production lines were restarted “almost immediately” after stopping.

Other electronics companies affected by the tremors include LG, which stopped production of LCD panels due to the risk of the large, thin materials breaking, The Korea Herald reported.

While many homes and buildings near the quakes’ epicenters shook violently, there was no significant damage reported beyond broken glass and some cracked walls and floors. In all, around six civilians were injured and 102 cases of damage were reported, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.

So while this quake seems like a bad omen for Samsung, the Galaxy Note 7 replacement process should continue without significant delays.