In what would be one of the most catastrophic events in world history, a nuclear power plant just 25 miles north of New York city is in the target pathway of Sandy. The much criticized power plant, Indian Point, has been the center of recent controversy of it’s continued existence post Fukushima Daiichi. Calls to shut down the aging plant have been mostly ignored. Twenty million people reside in the nuclear plant’s 50 mile fallout zone, making it the most dangerous plant in the country and one of the most dangerous in the world. Indian Point supplies around 30% of the regions power, mainly to New York City.
Indian Point is programmed to go offline in the event there is sustained winds of over 74mph or a 10.5 feet rise in sea level. The nuclear power plant is only capable of withstanding a rise of 15 feet in sea level according to reports.
It appears the storm surge may be peaking near 14 ft– it remains to be seen how much further flooding the Hudson River will experience upstream.
