Several nuclear power plants in North Carolina and nearby states are bracing for Hurricane Florence, including a plant right in its path with the same design as the Japanese reactors that melted down in 2011 when a tsunami knocked out backup power.
Why it matters: While the probability is very low, the risk of a storm-fueled accident at a nuclear plant could be devastating and threaten the health of tens of thousands of people living nearby.
Between the lines: All kinds of energy production and generation get attention only when things could go wrong or have gone wrong — but particularly nuclear given its controversial reputation. It’s worth pointing out that nuclear plants have "consistently proven hardy against hurricanes," according to an in-depth Raleigh, North Carolina, News & Observer piece published Wednesday.
Driving the news: Florence is the first big test of Duke Energy’s Brunswick plant near Wilmington, North Carolina, since it installed additional safeguards in response to the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, the Observer reports.
The details, per the Observer:
"They were safe then. They are even safer now. We have backups for backups for backups."— Kathryn Green, Duke spokesperson, referring to post-Fukushima improvements, per Fox News and Reuters.
Go deeper: Hurricane Florence to cause "unbelievable destruction" in Carolinas
