WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two nuclear power plants in the Northeast U.S. have been affected by Sandy. The Oyster Creek Plant in Lacey Township, New Jersey is on alert status due to flooding from the storm.
The plant was already offline for regular maintenance before Sandy, a superstorm downgraded Monday night from a hurricane, slammed the East Coast.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says an "unusual event" was declared around 7 p.m. when water reached a high level. The situation was upgraded less than two hours later to an "alert," the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system.
Federal officials say all nuclear plants are still in safe condition. They say water levels near Oyster Creek, which is along the Atlantic Ocean, will likely recede within a few hours.
Oyster Creek went online in 1969 and provides 9 percent of New Jersey's electricity.
Regulators are also keeping an eye on the Indian Point nuclear plant, which is 45 miles north of New York City and is shut down due to power grid issues and flood waters. That plant is not under an alert status this morning.
