Rescue workers attempt to tow boats carrying residents being evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine has collapsed, triggering floods, endangering Europe's largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies. dam on the Dnipro River in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka has damaged homes and is posing a threat to residents, animals, crops and public infrastructure.
The dam is part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in Ukraine's Kherson region, which has been occupied by Russia as part of its invasion of and war against its smaller neighbor. The Dnipro River is the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces. The governments of Russia and Ukraine are blaming each other, saying the dam was destroyed by an explosion orchestrated by their enemy. U.S. agencies have intelligence suggesting that Russia is the culprit and a senior NATO officialand the reservoir it created holds 4.3 cubic miles of water — roughly as much as the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Releasing that much water will have massive repercussions.The Ukrainian government says that more than 40,000 people along the Dnipro are at risk of flooding.
"Footage from Kherson showed rooftops floating down the river and other homes half submerged, and flood waters are expected to peak by Wednesday,"