2023-06-09 04:32:47
The catastrophe of destroying the Nova Kakhovka Dam in Kherson constituted a new setback for Kiev, which may carry long dimensions for decades for Ukraine.
According to the Sky News report, the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine will have profound and far-reaching consequences, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it an “environmental bomb of mass destruction.”
Part of the huge dam in Kherson, which is under Russian control, collapsed on Tuesday morning, flooding large swathes of a war zone and threatening the lives of tens of thousands.
Here are 5 disasters that are expected to affect the country, from immediate emergency issues to long-term problems.
water to drink
The reservoir that is now being drained was one of the largest in Ukraine.
Much of the southern part of the country and the Russian-annexed Crimea depended on it for fresh water.
Depending on how low the water levels are, there could potentially be severe impacts on access to fresh water for hundreds of thousands of people.
Flooding farms and cutting irrigation channels
The fields downstream from the dam would suffer the immediate problem of flooding and crop destruction, but the other potentially more serious issue is that about half a million acres of fertile farmland depend on the Kakhovka Reservoir for irrigation.
A UN warning of the exacerbation of the global hunger crisis due to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam
Energy hit
A major hydroelectric power station linked to the dam on the Dnipro River was severely damaged.
There are concerns that oil and chemicals from this plant are already leaking into the river.
exodus
President Zelensky said that between 35 and 80 settlements, towns and villages are expected to be inundated, making immediate assistance efforts difficult.
ecosystems and animals
It is difficult to know the scale of the impact so far on the sensitive and important ecosystems below the dam, including the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve and Oleshki Sands National Nature Park.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also said that the floods killed about 300 animals in the Nova Kakhovka Zoo.
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