Kakhovka HPP dam disaster: June 7 updates
The water level will increase even more as a result of the Kakhovka HPP explosion (t.me/dsns_telegram)
As of the morning of June 7th, the intensity of flooding due to the sabotage of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam is decreasing. However, the Kherson Regional State Administration predicts that the water will continue to rise, potentially by another meter over the next 20 hours.
Here we have compiled everything about the aftermaths of the disaster as of June 7th.
What we know about the flooding
According to the head of Kherson Regional State Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, it is currently known that 1852 houses on the right bank of the Kherson region are inundated.
"The intensity of the flooding is decreasing, but due to significant damage, the water will still rise. According to our forecasts, the water level will increase by about one meter over the next 20 hours," said the head of the State Administration in a morning video update.
Local media reports continue to show water entering Kherson. It has already risen above two meters in one of the districts. The city's Korabel Square and Tchaikovsky street have been completely flooded.
The Bilozerka settlement, which the water had not reached until yesterday, was flooded overnight.
As a result of the blow up of the Kakhovka HPP, bridges in the Mykolaiv region are being blooded. As of this morning, the bridge in the village of Yelizavetivka is destroyed, and the village of Halahanivka is flooded.
The video below shows footage published by the head of the Snihurivka district administration, Ivan Kukhta, featuring the bridge near the village of Novovasylivka.
Currently, there is open communication between Snihurivka and the villages of Vasylivka, Yevhenivka, Pavlivka, and Tamarine.
Meanwhile residents of the left bank of the Kherson region are left alone with this disaster, as the occupiers are not evacuating residents from the flooded settlements.
According to local media, in some areas of the temporarily occupied Oleshky and Hola Prystan in Kherson region people were forced to move to the upper floors or roofs of their houses, where they spent the night due to significant flooding.
Photo: critical situation in temporarily occupied Oleshky, Kherson region (t.me/vanek_nikolaev)
As of this morning, the water level in Nova Kakhovka is gradually decreasing.
New photos and videos have been published online from the temporarily occupied city on the left bank of the Kherson region.
The occupiers in Velyki Kopani have set up three checkpoints and are not allowing anyone to leave.
The water level in Mykolaiv has risen by 58 cm in the morning.
"We are monitoring the situation. I want to reassure the citizens right away. The critical mark for Mykolaiv is +105 cm, but according to experts, today's morning figures are considered peak values, give or take, so the water level is expected to recede from here," city mayor Oleksandr Senkevich wrote.
In Kherson, the water level has risen by 5 meters
According to the CEO of Ukrhydroenergo (Ukraine's state-owned energy company) Ihor Syrota,
the water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir has dropped by 2.5 meters, while in Kherson, there has been a rise of 5 meters in water levels.
"It will continue to rise throughout the day, although the activation level in the Kakhovka Reservoir has somewhat slowed down. Yesterday, we observed an activation of 30 to 40 cm, whereas today we see it at 5-7 cm," Syrota explained.
He clarified that this indicates that the activation will not occur within the expected four-day timeframe but will be prolonged. It will no longer have such catastrophic consequences, but it could expand. In other words, it will not be an increase in flood height but rather in width.
Meanwhile, Sergiy Khlan, a deputy of the Kherson regional council, reported that up to 20% of Kherson city is currently flooded, with the most critical situation in the Korabel neighborhood.
"The most critical situation and the most flooded area is the Korabel neighborhood. People call it the Island. The water there has risen to three meters. Flooding is also ongoing in the Richport area. Several streets there are inundated. The Antonivka settlement is also flooded," Khlan said.
Water supply situation
The head of the military administration of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul,
has announced that overnight the water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir dropped another half meter, and since the dam's collapse, it has fallen by 2.5 meters.
However, according to Vilkul, the municipal water company in Kryvyi Rih is operating normally, providing water to all areas of the city. Nonetheless, local residents are still urged to use water sparingly.
In Nikopol and the surrounding area, a water conservation regime is being implemented. The head of the Nikopol Water Utility, Yevgen Yevtushenko, stated that this applies to both drinking water and technical water.
"Friends, we are implementing a strict water conservation regime. This includes both drinking water and technical water. The water utility is working with ATB to bring additional volumes of drinking water to the network's stores in the district. If possible, continue to stock up on water," writes Yevtushenko.
"A conscious destruction of one of Ukraine's largest reservoirs. At least 100,000 people lived in these areas before the Russian invasion. At least tens of thousands are still there. Hundreds of thousands of people are left without proper access to drinking water," president Zelenskyy said.
He added that all services are involved to provide aid to people in the affected areas. The Russians in turn are not trying to help people in the occupied areas.
New satellite images of Kakhovka HPP
The Maxar Technologies company has released new satellite images taken a day after the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam by Russians. The images cover more than 2,500 square kilometers between Nova Kakhovka and the Dnipro Bay southwest of Kherson.
Published footage shows the damaged dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station almost completely submerged. Homes of civilians, parks, other infrastructure and buildings are being inundated.
Evacuation continues
According to the head of the Regional State Administration, as of the morning of June 7th, 1457 people have been evacuated, mostly from the Korabel district in Kherson.
Also overnight, 13 people turned to the RSA requesting evacuation, 5 of which are residents of the left bank.
Rescue workers continue to eliminate the consequences of Russian terror. Currently, almost 800 people and over 170 units of SES (State Emergency Service) equipment have been involved.
According to the head of the SES, Serhiy Kruk's morning report, 52 people were rescued over the past day (including two children).
"If necessary, the SES is ready to involve another 250 staff members and over 60 units of equipment, which are currently in reserve," he wrote.
Updated evacuation information
According to the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration (KRMA), Oleksandr Prokudin, as of 1:00 PM:
- 1700 people have been evacuated.
- The occupiers continue to shell residential areas, endangering people escaping the disaster and those carrying out the evacuation.
- Russian hackers attacked the hotline of Kherson's RSA in the morning. Locals are warned of possible disruptions. If the KRMA line is not working, locals are instructed to call the following numbers: 101, 102, or 0502109253.
Meanwhile, in the occupied part of the Kherson region, 20 settlements need evacuation. The Russian invaders are not carrying it out.
"We see this on social media and also in messages from people. We are calling on all international organizations: the Red Cross, the UN," Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said during today's briefing in Kherson.
Fishing banned
The head of the Snihurivska city military administration, Ivan Kukhta, announced that fishing is banned in the Snihurivska and Horokhivska communities.
"For the second day in a row, there is a fish die-off in the community area. To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, fishing and selling fish are completely prohibited in the Snihurivska and Horokhivska communities for a 10-day term," Kukhta wrote.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health also says that there will be a fish die-off for the next 3-5 days in the Kherson region and flooded areas in Zaporizhia due to the rapid drop in water levels.
"Gathering such fish and consuming it is strictly prohibited! There is a risk of botulism," the department warned.
The Ministry of Health has published an infographic showing how to purify contaminated water.
Russians are trying to infiltrate the right bank of the Dnipro under the guise of "civilians"
"Russian soldiers are disguising themselves in civilian clothes and attempting to blend in with the local population that is evacuating to the right bank of the Dnipro," reports the National Resistance Center.
The occupiers plan to use the blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP to infiltrate subversive reconnaissance groups into the liberated territories of the Kherson region.
Massive fish die-off in Dnipropetrovsk region
The president's office has released a video filmed in the village of Mar'yanske in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
"Man-made ecocide perpetrated by Russia," wrote Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office.
The UN estimates that the scale of the consequences will become known in the coming days
Martin Griffiths, the UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, during a Security Council meeting, noted that the dam breach will have serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine on both sides of the front line due to loss of homes, food, drinking water, and means of existence.
"The extent of the disaster will be fully realized in the coming days," he said.
Zelenskyy held a meeting regarding the Kakhovka HPP
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting in which, among other things, the consequences of the Kakhovka HPP blast were discussed.
The participants discussed the evacuation of people from flooded settlements. They also addressed the issue of urgently providing drinking water to residents and long-term solutions for the settlements that relied on the reservoir. They also talked about the assessment of damages and environmental harm.
In this context, the president pointed out that the Russian occupiers completely failed the evacuation of people on the left bank of the Kherson region, which is temporarily under their control. In light of this, Ukraine will be appealing to international organizations.
People are reported missing
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Leonid Tymchenko, reported that as of the morning, there were three calls to the 102 hotline about individuals who have gone missing under special circumstances in the Kherson region.
He advised what relatives should do if their loved ones are missing or not making contact.
"First of all, they need to call the National Police of Ukraine at 102 to provide information about people who have gone missing under special circumstances. After that, the National Police search for these people," says Tymchenko.
Russians on the left bank of the Dnipro retreated by 5-15 km
The spokesperson of the Southern Defense Forces, Natalia Humeniuk, reported that after the sabotage of the Kakhovka HPP, the Russian troops retreated from the Dnipro by 5-15 km.
"They retreated at different distances. Depending on the spread of the water," she said, but added that the shelling of the right bank is still ongoing.
Presidential Office shows the scale of flooding in Kherson region
"The world must witness the scale of Russian crimes and the genocide of our people. This is just one of the very large-scale disasters - the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP," wrote OP Head Andriy Yermak.
Thousands of animals trapped
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video showing the rescue of animals in the disaster zone.
"While the Russian evil is terrorizing and destroying all living things, we are doing and will continue to do everything to save every living creature! Thousands upon thousands of animals are trapped in the flood after the destruction of the dam and other structures of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant by Russia.
We remember that humanity means taking care not just of each other, but of all living beings. We, Ukrainians, save and protect lives. Thank you to everyone who helps!" was the president's caption under the video.
Let us remind that last night, at 02:50, Russian occupiers executed a remote detonation of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam. Ukrainian intelligence had given advanced warning months prior that the Russians had laden the dam with explosives.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that the flood endangers anywhere from 35 to 80 settlements. Ukrhydroenergo anticipates that the peak of water discharge from the Kakhovka reservoir will occur this morning, June 7th, and that the water level will start to subside in three to four days.
British intelligence foresees an additional deluge in the forthcoming days due to the annihilation of the Kakhovka HPP.
