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The Nova Kakhovka dam collapse may be the “worst ecological disaster since the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown of Ukraine,” according to Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk, as specialists wait for the water to recede before assessing the environmental impact.
Explosions swept through the massive hydroelectric dam in southern Ukraine early Tuesday, draining one of the continent’s largest artificial reservoirs.
The flood forced the evacuation of thousands of people downstream, poisoned the land, wrecked a big power generation, and is projected to cause future water supply issues.
Concerns have also been expressed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, which is located 160 kilometers (100 miles) upstream. The reservoir of the dam supplied water to the facility.
The International Energy Agency tweeted that there was “no immediate nuclear safety risk at the plant” because the cooling pools were already full, but that if the reservoir was depleted, it would be difficult to replenish the cooling system and operate the diesel generators.
The Kherson dam explosion has triggered a blame game between Russia and Ukraine
Following the collapse, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an emergency meeting of his security council on Tuesday. The country’s public prosecutor has stated that an “ecocide” investigation is underway.
Even while Ukraine and Russia blame one another for purposefully blasting the main concrete barrier, it is still unclear what caused the dam to fail.
Several media sources cited satellite data indicating that a road over the dam had already been partially submerged in recent days and that water levels were at an all-time high.
Human catastrophe
The immediate impact, however, may be felt on the ground when people living downstream flee for safety. Ukraine controls the western bank of the Dnipro, while Russia controls the eastern bank and the dam itself.
According to Politico, the Ukrainian leader of the Kherson area, Oleksandr Prokudin, up to 16,000 people in Ukrainian-controlled territory are at risk and many would have to flee their homes.
Social media footage revealed heavy flooding in the Russian-controlled village of Nova Kakhovka, which is located near the dam.
Swans swim through the beautiful city council building in one video, while a sports stadium next to the river gets flooded in another.
The dam supplies water to Ukraine’s agricultural areas, and the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, and is also used to cool the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Its devastation has triggered a fresh humanitarian crisis at the same time that Ukraine is launching a long-awaited counteroffensive to expel Russian forces from its territory.