A Watery Hell: Thousands flee floods after Kakhovka dam blast in Ukraine

The destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhovka in southern Ukraine has led to flooding in villages, endangering crops and threatening drinking supplies. Thousands are evacuated as water is surging down the Dnipro river

FP Staff June 07, 2023 10:00:28 IST
Rescue workers attempt to tow boats carrying residents being evacuated from a flooded neighbourhood in Kherson, Ukraine. The scrambled evacuation by boat and military truck from an island neighbourhood off the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson downstream on Tuesday testified to the latest human chaos caused by the war. AP
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Rescue workers attempt to tow boats carrying residents being evacuated from a flooded neighbourhood in Kherson, Ukraine. The scrambled evacuation by boat and military truck from an island neighbourhood off the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson downstream on Tuesday testified to the latest human chaos caused by the war. AP
A major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed on Tuesday, flooding villages, endangering crops and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war scrambled to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the destruction. An aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station after it was partially destroyed. AFP
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A major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed on Tuesday, flooding villages, endangering crops and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war scrambled to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the destruction. An aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station after it was partially destroyed. AFP
An aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station after it was partially destroyed. Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which sits on the Dnipro river in an area Moscow has controlled for more than a year. AFP
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An aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station after it was partially destroyed. Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which sits on the Dnipro river in an area Moscow has controlled for more than a year. AFP
An aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station after it was partially destroyed. While Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area, where the river separates the two sides. AFP
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An aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station after it was partially destroyed. While Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area, where the river separates the two sides. AFP
Residents are evacuated from a flooded neighbourhood in Kherson, Ukraine. Dozens of evacuees on the island scurried onto the tops of military trucks or into rafts to flee rising floodwaters caused by a dam breach upstream. AP
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Residents are evacuated from a flooded neighbourhood in Kherson, Ukraine. Dozens of evacuees on the island scurried onto the tops of military trucks or into rafts to flee rising floodwaters caused by a dam breach upstream. AP
The unnerving bark of dogs left behind further soured the mood of those ferried to safety. A woman in one raft clutched the head of her despondent daughter. A stalled military truck stuck in swelling waters raised the panic level as Red Cross teams tried to manage an orderly evacuation. AP
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The unnerving bark of dogs left behind further soured the mood of those ferried to safety. A woman in one raft clutched the head of her despondent daughter. A stalled military truck stuck in swelling waters raised the panic level as Red Cross teams tried to manage an orderly evacuation. AP
The island neighbourhood was one residential area in the direct slipstream of Tuesday’s catastrophe, which experts said was expected to play out over days as pent-up waters from the Kakhovka reservoir wash their way unhindered toward the Black Sea. AP
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The island neighbourhood was one residential area in the direct slipstream of Tuesday’s catastrophe, which experts said was expected to play out over days as pent-up waters from the Kakhovka reservoir wash their way unhindered toward the Black Sea. AP
Red Cross workers drive along a street in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, which was flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up overnight. It could take days to know the real toll and damage. AP
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Red Cross workers drive along a street in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, which was flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up overnight. It could take days to know the real toll and damage. AP
People board an evacuation train at a railway station in Kherson, Ukraine. Officials said about 22,000 people live in areas at risk of flooding in Russian-controlled areas on the eastern side of the river, while 16,000 live in the most critical zone in Ukrainian-held territory on the western side — areas like those evacuated on Tuesday. AP
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People board an evacuation train at a railway station in Kherson, Ukraine. Officials said about 22,000 people live in areas at risk of flooding in Russian-controlled areas on the eastern side of the river, while 16,000 live in the most critical zone in Ukrainian-held territory on the western side — areas like those evacuated on Tuesday. AP
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy (centre) chairs the emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on the situation at the Kakhovka HPP after the dam was blown up overnight, in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy (centre) chairs the emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on the situation at the Kakhovka HPP after the dam was blown up overnight, in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP