Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant destruction: Settlements getting flooded

On June 6, the Armed Forces of the Ukraine shelled the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in the Kherson region. The dam of the HPP has been damaged, more than a dozen settlements could be flooded.

Fourteen out of 28 spans of the Kakhovka HPP dam have been demolished. Both Ukrainian and Russian officials admit the station is beyond repairs.

The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was damaged on the night of June 6. The dam support was damaged in the shelling, nearby territories were flooded. The water level in the Kakhovka water reservoir rose by 2.5 meters. Surface structures were destroyed, and the water went downstream causing the water level in the Dnieper River to rise by more than ten meters.

There are 14 settlements in the flooding zone — this is more than 22,000 people live in them.

The head of the government of the Kherson region, Andrey Alekseenko, said that the local authorities warned the population about the possible danger. Alekseenko ruled out the danger of flooding to large settlements.

Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontiev stated that the town was flooded. The water level in the town had reached five meters. Residents from about 300 buildings located on the banks of the Dnieper River are being evacuated.

According to Leontiev, there is no threat of destruction of Novaya Kakhovka and neighbouring settlements. However, due to the consequences of the shelling of the hydroelectric power station, part of the power lines were destroyed. Sewer stations were flooded as well.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that as many as 80 settlements could be flooded as a result of the partial destruction of the hydroelectric power station.

Crimea and Sevastopol out of danger

The head of the Crimea Sergei Aksyonov admitted that the North Crimean Canal could become shallow.

"Water reserves in the canal currently amount to about 40 million cubic meters. Water reservoirs, even those that were previously 15-20 percent full, are now 80 percent full. The reserves of drinking water are more than enough," he wrote on Telegram.

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev stressed that the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP would not affect water supplies in the city. Sevastopol uses its own reservoir, the water reserves of which are now at the maximum level.

The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP will not affect the operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Leontiev said that the hydroelectric power plant would have to be rebuilt after the end of hostilities.

In 1985, Soviet scientists calculated possible consequences in the event of the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam. According to their forecasts, the explosion of the dam could trigger a five-meter-high wave down the Dnieper. The wave would wash away all neighbouring villages on the way before reaching the city of Kherson in two hours. A significant part of the regional centre would be affected as a result of the flooding.