The destruction of a major dam in Ukraine will have “grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people”, the United Nations has warned.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said the scale of the catastrophe at the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine would only become clear in the coming days.
Thousands have fled flooded homes in the area, an active war zone. There are fears water levels could rise further.
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of blowing up the dam on Tuesday.
The claims by the warring sides have not been verified by the BBC.
Addressing the UN Security Council late on Tuesday, Mr Griffiths warned that thousands of people in southern Ukraine were facing “the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods”.
As mass evacuations continue on Wednesday morning in Ukraine’s Kherson region, satellite images have emerged showing widespread devastation there.
One of the photos showed a flooded port and industrial area in the regional capital Kherson, which is under Ukrainian control.
On Wednesday morning, 23 localities remained flooded, Ukrainian TV said in its latest news bulletin.
Meanwhile Kherson’s Russian-installed authorities declared a state of emergency in the parts of the region they control.
Some reports suggest that water levels may be dropping in the town of Nova Kakhovka, closest to the dam, as the vast reservoir behind it quickly empties.
But flood waters may not peak in Kherson for another 20 hours, Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin as saying.
Mr Prokudin added that Russian forces had shelled parts of the region including the city of Kherson several times, and that one person was killed and one injured.
Overall, about 40,000 people needed to be evacuated, Ukraine’s Deputy Prosecutor-General Viktoriya Lytvynova said earlier: 17,000 in Ukraine-held territory west of the Dnipro River and 25,000 in the Russian-occupied east.
The Russian-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovka said seven people were missing, although it was thought they had also been evacuated.
Vladimir Leontyev added that the village of Korsunka was now completely under water, with flooding up to roof level in three other villages.
Some local residents have been seen desperately trying to save their belongings in homes with water levels nearing the ceiling.
The Kakhovka dam, downstream from the huge Kakhovka reservoir, provides much needed water to farmers and residents, as well as to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It is also a vital channel carrying water south to Russian-occupied Crimea.
The peak of a huge water spill downstream from the emptying reservoir was expected on Wednesday morning, warned Ukraine’s state-owned hydropower plants administrator Ukrhydroenergo.
It said this would be followed by a period of “stabilisation”, with the water expected to rapidly recede in four to five days.
There are concerns about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – which uses reservoir water for cooling.
The situation there is said to be under control and there is “no immediate nuclear safety risk” for the plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Source: BBC
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