First Interruption Since Discharge Start... Resumed After 15 Hours
An earthquake occurred off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in the northeastern part of Honshu, Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) suspended the discharge of contaminated water into the ocean but resumed it about 15 hours later.
According to major foreign media on the 15th, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Honshu at around 12:14 a.m. The hypocenter depth was 50 km. No tsunami warning was issued.
Following procedures, TEPCO manually halted the ongoing discharge of contaminated water (referred to by the Japanese government as "treated water") from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant at around 12:33 a.m. The discharge was resumed at approximately 3:50 p.m., about 15 hours later.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, this is the first time since the contaminated water discharge began in August last year that it has been suspended. TEPCO started the fourth phase of contaminated water discharge on the 28th of last month and planned to complete it by the 17th of this month.
According to Kyodo News, two people were injured in Fukushima Prefecture due to the earthquake. However, no abnormalities were detected at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant or other nearby nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) assessed the earthquake's magnitude as 5.6. The epicenter was located 23.8 km offshore southwest of Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. The hypocenter depth was estimated at 53.1 km.
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