Before and after pictures show mass floods amid Ukrainian dam attack

Astonishing before and after pictures show how floods have left entire towns under water just hours after destruction of Ukrainian dam

• Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been told to abandon their homes amid ‘catastrophic’ levels of flooding 

Shocking drone images have revealed the scale of devastating floods that have swept through the Kherson region of Ukraine after a major dam and hydroelectric power plant were damaged in explosions early this morning.

A series of pictures taken from towns and villages around Kherson city saw huge swathes of land completely overrun by the deluge unleashed amid the attacks on the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

In some cases houses were completely washed away, with one video circulating on social media showing a building floating down the Dnieper river as stunned bystanders watched on. 

Other smaller buildings were completely submerged, with one image showing how a local football and athletics stadium was entirely underwater. 

Ukrainian warned that a complete failure of the dam could unleash 18million cubic meters (4.8billion gallons) of water and flood Kherson and dozens of other towns and settlements, home to hundreds of thousands of people. 

The cause of the blasts is not yet clear, although Ukraine warned late last year that Russian forces had mined the dam as they retreated from Kherson and Ukraine’s state hydroelectric company said the Kakhovka plant was destroyed by an explosion in the engine room – suggesting it was attacked from within rather than by external strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the destruction of the Kakhovka dam would have ‘dire consequences’ for people and nature, while local residents warned that ‘everything is going to die here’ and said ‘people will suffer’.

This image shows the main square outside the administrative building of Nova Kakhovka – the main urban centre closest to the dam – before and after the horrendous flooding. Russian-installed officials said the water level is expected to rise for up to 72 hours after this morning’s incident

A view of the Kosheva river close to Kherson shows the extent of the flash floods after the dam was damaged this morning

Several riverside shacks and small corrugated iron buildings were almost completely submerged as the river burst its banks

The Enerhiya Athletics Stadium in Nova Kakhovka was completely overrun by flood water which submerged the track and parts of the stands

A simulation shows the potential devastation that a total collapse of the Kakhovka dam could bring to the region

This screen grab from a video posted on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s Twitter account today shows an aerial view of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station after it was partially destroyed

A drone camera showed the extent of the flooding. Water is seen flowing over the top of the damaged dam

An explosion is seen at the destroyed Kakhovka plant in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine today. Water was thrown 40ft into the air amid the blasts

Kherson is flooded after the Kakhovka dam was damaged in a series of explosions

Flood water has already overrun the countryside and several villages close to Kherson

The Kakhovka Hydroelectric power plant was totally destroyed by the blasts

The remains of the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant are seen in these images following several explosions

A drone camera showed the extent of the flooding – water is seen flowing over the top of the damaged dam

A satellite image shows Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson region, Ukraine June 5, 2023, before the attack

The dam has allegedly been blown up by Russian forces, threatening at least ten nearby villages

This general view shows a partially flooded area of Kherson on June 6, 2023, following damage sustained at Kakhovka hydroelectric dam

Flooding begins in the occupied Kherson and Kherson region after the destruction of Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant

 

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