Evacuations under way near Kherson after Nova Kakhovka dam ‘blown up’ | First Thing

About 16,000 people could be affected and water will reach critical level' in hours, says Kherson governor. Plus, the truth about local' food in US supermarkets

Good morning.

The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River, and called for people living downstream to evacuate in the face of catastrophic flooding.

How big is the dam? The dam traverses Ukraine's enormous Dnipro River, holding back a huge reservoir of water. The dam is 30 metres tall and hundreds of metres wide. It was built in 1956 as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. The reservoir it contains holds an estimated 18 cubic kilometres of water, about the same volume as the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

How much damage will be caused? The areas most under threat of flooding are the islands along the course of the river downstream of Nova Kakhovka and much of the Russian-held left bank in southern Kherson. Earlier modelling of such a disaster suggested Kherson city would not take the brunt of the flood, but the harbour, the docklands and an island in the south of the city are likely to be inundated. It is unclear how many people would lose their homes.

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