In a worst-case scenario

The director of Oconee Emergency Services says of the natural disasters that could occur in the vicinity of Duke’s nuclear plant, he regards flooding more likely than an earthquake, though the area in the vicinity of Oconee Nuclear is known to contain fault lines. In a well-attended forum arranged last night by Friends of Lake Keowee, Emergency Services Director Scott Krein narrated a computer-on-screen potential for what’s considered a worst case scenario. That would be 36 inches’ rain in a 24-hour period and the effect upon the Jocassee Dam, north of the nuclear station, along with dikes, spillways, the nuclear plant itself, and lakefront homes downstream. Especially, in a time of severe drought, 36 inches in 24 hours seems unthinkable, according to one of last night’s interested audience members. Yet, it’s the potential for the worst that emergency services would plan for. Krein’s presentation stressed emergency planning and notification. He urged all Oconeeans to sign up for AlertOconee, a free system that can send phone notifications to residents and businesses impacted by, or in danger of being impacted, by an emergency or disaster.