<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Three-metre tsunami waves were recorded at, but did not damage, a nuclear plant in Japan in the recent earthquake, its operator told AFP today more than a week after the incident.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The revelation served as a reminder of the risks associated with nuclear power in Japan 13 years after a tsunami wrecked the Fukushima facility in one of the world’s worst atomic disasters.</div><div><br></div><div>The 7.5-magnitude jolt on New Year’s Day and its powerful aftershocks killed at least 203 people in the central Ishikawa region, flattening houses, wrecking infrastructure and leaving thousands without power.</div><div><br></div><div>A tsunami as high as a metre was registered near the Shika plant shortly after 4.30pm on Jan 1, roughly 20 minutes following the original quake, Hokuriku Electric Power said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our analysis has indicated that waves as high as three metres came around 5.45pm,” a spokesman for the utility told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>The plant is 11m above sea level and is also protected by a 4m-high seawall built after the 2011 Fukushima accident, he said, stressing the safety of the Shika plant.</div><div><br></div><div>The analysis of the tsunami became available after Hokuriku Electric collected data from an offshore measuring device that had stopped transmitting its records after the quake.</div><div><br></div><div>Minor damage was reported at other nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan shoreline after the earthquake, including leaks of water used to cool nuclear fuel and a partial power shutdown at one plant.</div><div><br></div><div>The plant operators said there was no danger of damage to the environment or the nuclear power stations themselves.</div><div><br></div><div>Japan, one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, took its more than 30 nuclear reactors offline after the 2011 disaster but around a dozen are now back in operation.</div><div><br></div><div>In total, 68 people still remained unaccounted for late yesterday after the Jan 1 quake, according to local authorities.</div><div><br></div><div>Almost 3,500 people were still stuck in isolated communities, with almost 30,000 in government shelters, almost 60,000 households without running water and more than 15,000 without electricity. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>