Earth Science News
WATER WORLD
Devastation reigns one month on from Ukraine dam flood
Devastation reigns one month on from Ukraine dam flood
By Emmanuel PEUCHOT
Afanasiyivka, Ukraine (AFP) July 5, 2023

Clothes, sofas and kitchen furniture still lie strewn around Nadiya Yefremova's garden a month after her home was flooded by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

"I've already removed and cleaned a lot of things. Every day, I have to dry things," the 86-year-old told AFP, looking weary under the hot sun.

In a green dress with a hearts pattern and with a kerchief on her head, she walked hesitantly around her garden.

Yefremova lives in Afanasiyivka, a small village surrounded by the Ingulets River, which flows into the much bigger Dnipro River near the city of Kherson.

Her home was one of thousands flooded when a blast destroyed the Kakhovka dam upstream in the early hours of June 6.

The flooding caused dozens of deaths, including some rescuers and evacuees killed by Russian shelling in the frontline area.

Moscow and Kyiv deny responsibility for the disaster but the dam is controlled by Russia and the Ukrainian army believes the aim was to halt a counteroffensive.

The mass of water that flooded the Dnipro River also raised up the Ingulets, overwhelming many villages including Afanasiyivka, which became an island.

"There was water up to here," Yefremova said, showing the level on the wall.

"The authorities don't help. They say 'do everything yourself'," she said.

Her neighbours helped clean up her home.

- Unusable fields -

The river only returned to normals level two weeks ago.

The ground from which the water receded is now a dark brown colour made up of dead grass, destroyed crops and mud.

Sergiy Yablonsky, 40, a local farmer, said he had lost 40 hectares of barley.

"When the Kakhovka dam burst, we came here with a combine harvester to at least mow enough to feed the animals, the pigs," said the farmer, standing shirtless in front of his devastated fields in Novosofiivka.

But "the water started rising very fast and we had to abandon the combine in the water" before eventually recovering it.

"We have to wait two years" before the field can be used again, he said.

Yablonsky farms a total of 1,200 hectares, mainly sunflowers and wheat, in the key region for agriculture -- Ukraine's biggest industry which has already suffered from the ravages of war.

Wheat is being harvested in one of the fields. The combine harvesters chew up the golden ears in a cloud of dust.

When Russian forces occupied the region from March to November "the business ceased to be profitable", he said.

"Half the harvest wasn't gathered, 100 hectares burnt... They (Russian forces) did what they wanted," the farmer said.

- 'It's all gone' -

In Novosofiivka, Lyubov Osadcha, 70, and her husband Petro, 74, are still unable to live in their house which was flooded and have to rent a flat in the village.

"The sofas are broken, the clothes are mouldy, nothing is usable any more," Petro said, as he wandered around their still-damp house.

The pensioners also lost potatoes, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries they grew in their large garden on the banks of the Ingulets.

"We had everything. Now look, it's all rotten," said the husband, digging out a small potato.

"It's all gone, all gone.... And the garden, everything," his wife said with a trembling voice.

Ivan Kukhta, head of the military administration in Snigurivka, a nearby town of 12,000 inhabitants before the war, said the flooding damaged 375 homes and destroyed 2,5000 hectares of land in 13 places along the Ingulets River.

The main ongoing difficulty is access to drinking water.

"Many wells were flooded and nitrates from the fields got into the water and poisoned it," he said.

Humanitarian organisations travel around the villages providing drinking water.

"The consequences are major and we will be managing them for a long time to come," he said.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Kyiv puts environmental damage from Ukraine dam breach at $1.5 bn
London (AFP) June 21, 2023
Kyiv said Wednesday the destruction of the Russian-held Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine earlier this month caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damages to the environment. The breach of the dam on June 6 caused devastating floods in the Kherson region under Russian and Ukrainian control, forcing thousands to flee and sparking fears of an environmental disaster. Kyiv has accused Moscow of "eco-cide" by blowing up the Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River, while Russia has blamed Ukraine. "Every ... read more

WATER WORLD
New Zealand confident in UN advice on Fukushima, govt says

IAEA chief meets top S. Korean diplomat amid protest

South Korea co-signs Japan's Fukushima radioactive water release plan

Drills, red wine: Ukrainians ready for leak at Russia-held plant

WATER WORLD
iQPS initiates a full-scale study to leverage SkyCompass-1 optical data relay service

Microsoft-Activision deal back on track after US court win

Mountain of strategic metals stranded in DR Congo begins to shift

The chore of packing just got faster and easier

WATER WORLD
Climate change, El Nino drive hottest June on record

Drought scuppers salmon fishing season in California

Top French court says Channel town must give migrants water

Considerable but unsustainable water supply from thawing permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau in a changing climate

WATER WORLD
'Unimaginable': Austria's highest paradise feels heat of climate change

High-resolution Ice Radar System Contributes to China's Antarctic Expedition

Russia, China block move for new Antarctic marine reserves

Sustainability at centre of British polar science strategy

WATER WORLD
French cherry farmers protest over insecticide ban; Report paves way for EU glyphosate use

EU pushes to slash food waste

From soup stock to supercrop: Japan shows off its seaweed savvy

Sweet success: Jordan's beekeepers busy as honey demand soars

WATER WORLD
Six feared dead in torrential Japan rain

Heavy rains and flooding pummel US northeast, one dead

At least 29 killed in India monsoon floods: officials

'Orange like the sun': visitors flock to Iceland volcano

WATER WORLD
Regional monetary union lifts Mali suspension

UN warns Sudan faces 'full-scale civil war' as air raid kills 22

AU force in Somalia completes first phase of drawdown

Pullout of UN peacekeepers from Mali leaves security void

WATER WORLD
The sound of silence? Researchers prove people hear it

Signs of the human era, from nuclear fallout to microplastics

The Anthropocene heralds disaster. Can humans change course?

Welcome to the Anthropocene, Earth's new chapter

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.