browns ferry nuclear reactor
Tennessee Valley Authority shut all three Browns Ferry reactors in Alabama yesterday after severe storms and tornadoes caused a brief power outage at the plant, Barbara Martocci, a company spokeswoman, said.

The plant, which includes the three reactors, automatically shut at 5:30 p.m. local time after losing the off-site power supply, Martocci, who is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, said today in a telephone interview.

"They are in safe shutdown mode and will stay shut down until we can assess the damage in the area and determine where the power lines are down and what we need to restore those lines in order for anything we generate from Browns Ferry to go back out to the public," she said.

The plant automatically shut down and the emergency systems came on as they were designed to do, Martocci said.

A series of lethal storms moved through the U.S. Southeast killing at least 178 people in five states. Alabama was hardest- hit, as high winds tore apart homes and businesses, the Associated Press reported. About 300,000 people were without power.

It may have been the deadliest single day for tornadoes in the U.S. since April 3, 1974, when 310 people died, according to AccuWeather Inc.

The Browns Ferry plant has a combined capacity of 3,284 megawatts, enough to power 2.6 million average U.S. homes, according to U.S. Energy Department statistics. The plant is located about 84 miles (135 kilometers) north of Birmingham.