Armenian nuke designed to stand 9.0-magnitude earthquake

PanARMENIAN.Net - Head of the Center for Seismic Resistance of Constructions at the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations Zaven Khlghatyan said that the Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor is designed to stand a 9.0-magnitude earthquake.

The Armenian nuclear power plant has been considered a property of extreme importance, and it was constructed based on special standards with taking into consideration the territory’s seismic hazard, Khlghatyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

A massive earthquake, 9.0 on the Richter scale, unleashed a huge tsunami which crashed through Japan's eastern coastline, on March 11. According to the updated data, 5,900 people are considered to be killed or missing.

The cooling system of nuclear reactors at Fukushima nuclear plant has failed as a result of the earthquake. The failure has resulted in explosions at the first and third energy units. A "state of emergency" is declared at the neighboring Fukushima-2 nuclear plant, where the cooling system has also failed. People have been evacuated within a 20-km zone.

On March 14, Japan asked IAEA to send a group of specialists to assist in overcoming the situation at the nuclear plants.