Tepco: 11m Seawall Completed At Fukushima Plant
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has completed an 11-meter-high seawall to protect the facility from tsunami waves.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, erected the barrier based on a government panel warning three years ago. It said that a mega-quake along the Chishima Trench, beneath the sea near northern Japan, could cause a tsunami to hit the compound.
TEPCO announced that a 1.7-meter-high concrete wall was built atop elevated ground stretching 600 meters on the sea side of the No.1 to No.4 reactors.
The firm says the barrier stands 11 meters above sea level and it was completed on Friday.
TEPCO next plans to build another seawall measuring up to 16 meters high, based on a new projection made by a government panel in April.
The projection says if a mega-quake were to occur along the Japan Trench off the northeastern coast, a tsunami could be higher than the newly-built seawalls.
TEPCO says it aims to complete the taller seawall by fiscal 2023.
