A recent major earthquake that hit a wide area centering on the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, has caused no major safety problems at the local Shika nuclear power plant, the operator said in a postdisaster review Friday.

According to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., Monday's 7.6-magnitude quake registered upper 5 of a maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale beneath the No. 1 reactor of the plant in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture. The two-unit plant was offline at the time.

The company said it found bumps and dents at four locations on the plant's premises, and part of the outer power supply system remains out of order, but used nuclear fuels have been cooled normally and radioactive substances are safely contained.

About 90 minutes after the quake, the water level of a pool connecting with the Sea of Japan had risen by some 3 meters, but the change did not affect the plant as it stands on a lot 11 meters higher than normal sea level, the utility said.

The Shika nuclear plant's safety system is under analysis by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, a process necessary before restarting.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Tuesday that the maximum ground acceleration measured in the New Year's Day quake was 2,826 gals at a point in Shika, a level similar to the 2,934 gals logged in Miyagi Prefecture in the March 2011 quake in the northeast.

Beneath the No. 1 reactor of the Shika plant on Monday, the reading was 399 gals, according to Hokuriku Electric Power.

==Kyodo

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