Built in the 1970s on at above sea level and about from the Atlantic Ocean near Southport, Duke Energy Carolinas operates the 1,870-megawatt Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant which has two nuclear reactors. This plant is the same generation and design as the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, temporary flood prevention updates, called "cliff edge barriers" to make doors at the facility water tight, were installed at Brunswick to prevent flooding from Hurricane Florence from causing a disaster similar to Fukushima Daiichi. These temporary barriers are designed to stop flooding from a storm surge of up to . On Thursday, September 13, 2018, before Hurricane Florence made landfall at Wrightsville Beach, Duke Energy shut down the first reactor in the early morning and the second reactor in the afternoon about two hours before tropical storm-force winds at the plant.