Three dead due to flooding from Kakhovka dam breach, 600 sq kms of Kherson Oblast under water

Local media have confirmed the first deaths due to the flooding from the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

According to The Kyiv Independent, three people drowned in the Kherson region.

On Wednesday, speaking in his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced fears for the lives of Ukrainians in Russian-held areas hit by the disaster.

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He said it was difficult to predict the number of casualties in Russian-occupied parts of Kherson due to the flooding, urging a “clear and rapid reaction from the world” to support victims.

He also criticised slammed the United Nations and the Red Cross, who he said were not helping with the relief efforts. “Our military and special services are rescuing people as much as it is possible, despite the shelling. But large-scale efforts are needed,” he said.

“We need international organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, to immediately join the rescue operation and help people in the occupied part of Kherson region.

“If an international organisation is not present in the disaster zone, it means it does not exist at all or is incapable.”

Kherson inundated

Meanwhile, the flooding situation looked grim in other parts of Ukraine. Around 600 square kilometres of Kherson Oblast has been flooded, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Thursday.

Around 68 per cent of the flooded land is on the Russian-occupied east bank of the Dnipro River, while 32 per cent is on the Ukrainian-controlled west bank.

“As of the June 8 morning, the average water level in Kherson Oblast has reached 5.61 metres,” he said.

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Russia'sconstant shelling on the west bank hasso farnot affected the evacuation efforts, Prokudin said, adding that 1,999 civilians have been rescued.

Most people were evacuated from Kherson's Korabel district, also known as Ostriv (Island), which has been among the most flooded areas.

Twenty settlements on the west bank were flooded, and 2,629 homes were affected, Kherson Oblast Military Administrationreportedon the same day.

Due to the flooding, 159 transformer substations in the region were disconnected, the gas supply to 14,716 consumers was interrupted, and all Kherson's Ostriv district residents were left without water supply, according to the regional administration.

(With inputs from agencies)

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