The order was issued by local authorities on June 6. Nova Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontyev said the town was currently flooded.

Water overflows through the broken area of ​​the Nova Kakhovka dam - Photo: AP

According to the latest news, more than 600 houses in 3 residential areas on the banks of the Dnieper River in Novaya Kakhovka have been flooded. Agricultural land along the Dnieper River has been washed away. The water level in many places in Novaya Kakhovka has risen to 10 meters, 14 residential areas are in the flood zone and a total of 80 villages may be submerged. People near these areas are being evacuated.

Earlier, the emergency services said that 14 of the 28 piers of the dam at the HPP had collapsed due to overnight airstrikes. According to TASS, Ukrainian troops carried out an airstrike on the night of June 5 against the power plant using Olkha multiple rocket launchers. The airstrikes destroyed several water valves and caused the pumps to lose control of the water flow.
However, Ukraine accused Russian forces of breaking the dam and warned of serious consequences. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.

On the same day, Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr. Rafael Grossi said that the Kakhovka dam collapse would lead to a lack of cooling water at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and could disrupt the operation of emergency generators.

The Kakhovka Dam supplies cooling water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The incident has raised concerns about a nuclear accident at Europe's largest power plant.

VNA