Arizona state university.
Geoff: Floodwaters are
inundating parts of southern
Ukraine and rescue and relief
efforts are underway.
Yesterday's's dam collapse has
unleashed disasters in a nation
already suffering from 16 months
of war.
Evacuations continuing today
after the Ukraine dam disaster
as the scope of devastation
comes into full view.
Drone footage showed rooftops
barely holding above rising
water lines.
Some, swept away entirely by the
rushing dnipro river.
As floodwaters engulfed village
after village in southern
Ukraine.
>> It is our home where we live.
Or it was.
Maybe it will be again when it
dries out.
Geoff: Flood victims in kherson
sifted through their belongings
desperate to save pets from
drowning, and to salvage soiled
items.
Earlier today, Ukrainian
authorities said the river was
still swelling and water levels
could remain at peak heights for
as long as 10 days.
Evacuation efforts were swift.
Residents joined Ukrainian
police as they navigated the
streets on inflatable boats and
makeshift rafts, even as the
sounds of nearby shelling
persisted.
>> I've been coming here for a
whole year.
I want to do something useful
for our country, for our people.
Geoff: So far, about 3000 people
have fled their homes, but over
60,000 people reside in the
flood-impacted areas.
The exact cause of yesterday's
breach is still undetermined.
Both Ukraine and Russia have
accused each other of deliberate
attacks, while others say
Russian attacks on the dam last
year could have caused cracks
that led to its collapse over
time.
Security footage from November
showed a fiery blast tearing
through a section of the dam's
walls.
This satellite image from June 1
shows the dam intact.
On June 2, clear damage to a
section of road.
And by yesterday, June 6, the
dam was completely destroyed,
with water bursting through.
As the kakhovka reservoir
empties downstream, the
humanitarian implications are
immense.
Ukrainian officials warn that
floating mines, unearthed by the
deluge, pose a threat to
civilians across the region.
And as a critical source of
drinking water is cut off,
experts fear the spread of
diseases and hazardous
chemicals.
>> Dozens of towns and villages
will struggle with the issue of
portable water supply.
The destruction of the kakhovka
hydro-electric power station is
a crime against humanity and an
ecocide.
Geoff: All this, on top of a
relentless war.
For an update on the ongoing
rescue and relief eforts, we
turn to Ewan Watson.
He's the head of communications
at the international committee
of the red cross, he joins me
from Geneva.
Thank you for being with us.
How is the red cross assisting
with the ongoing rescue and
relief efforts across southern
Ukraine?
What are you hearing from your
partners on the ground?
Ewan: Our partners, the
Ukrainian red cross, are doing
incredible work right now.
On day one they already managed
to evacuate 800 people including
approximately 60 people with low
or absolutely no mobility.
You have to remember that in
this flood stricken area, this
was already an area devastated
by fighting.
Many people have fled.
Many of the people that remain
are people that were sick, too
old, who cannot really go
anywhere.
So they were desperately
vulnerable already before the
dam was destroyed, and here we
are with yet another tragedy on
our hands.
What we have been focusing on
through our partners in the
Ukrainian red cross is really to
move people to a degree of
safety.
Long shocked by the rapidity of
the rising water.
It is obviously extremely
dangerous with landmines
floating around with the
possibility of those exploding
at any time.
It is dire and we are extremely
concerned.
Geoff: Ukrainian president
volodymyr zelenskyy said today
he was shocked at what he said
was the failure of the red cross
and the united nations to
provide help after the dam
collapse.
He said of the organization,
quote, they are not here.
How do you respond to that?
Ewan: I think the frustration is
understandable and we can
recognize that.
You minute here he needs in
front of you, it is
understandable.
I can only say our partners are
working incredibly hard on the
ground and we support them in
many different ways through
technical support and others to
make sure they are best placed
to make sure people have
drinking water and basic
necessities.
Where we are going to become
stronger in time is in terms of
tackling the longer-term needs
of this.
What you have is an area now
that was typically used for
agriculture and now that land is
no longer available for
agriculture between the flooding
in the landmines.
And therefore what are people to
do in terms of making a
livelihood?
That is a desperate concern.
The other one is the
availability of the longer-term
of drinking water.
These are two massive concerns
for today and also the
longer-term.
That is where we expect to work
very closely with our partner on
the ground helping the
communities.
Geoff: When president zelenskyy
said we have had no response, to
what event do you think he is
referring?
Ewan: I don't want to comment
further on what the president is
saying.
From the humanitarian
perspective we have sought to
respond across Ukraine since the
intensity of this conflict broke
in February last year.
I think what is important here
is that firstly, we really echo
what is an important point of
law here, which is that a dam
just like a nuclear facility
must be protected.
It should not be attacked during
warfare.
That is against the law.
And the problem when there is an
attack like this is that it
unleashes the dangerous forces
water, that moves landmines in
different directions, that then
triggers all sorts of different
dangers to a population already
in grave danger.
We have been working since day
one of this international armed
conflict to respond to different
needs across the country and we
will continue to do so.
Geoff: To your point, this is
the most significant damage to
civilian infrastructure since
the start of this war.
It has far-reaching in grave
consequences.
How does this compound what
people across southern Ukraine
are already experiencing with
this brutal war?
Ewan: Yeah.
I mean, if you take a city like
Harris on -- kherson, which has
been and remains at the
epicenter of this conflict, that
is a city that has been taken
and retaken, has been really at
the center of a frontline that
has seen vicious fighting, where
people have had to flee,
possibly felt safe enough to
come back, and now again
wondering where the next
foothold of safety lies.
You can see that happening in
all sorts of different
communities in this region.
If you look further east, of
course there has been conflict
raging there since 2014.
For many communities in these
areas, fighting is nothing new.
They have had to live in the
middle of it, working out how to
find daily bread each day.
It is a devastating situation
and it is not getting better, it
is getting worse.
Geoff: Ewan Watson, thank you
for your time.
Ewan: Thank you.
♪♪