Homes are flooded, forcing many people to leave and access to water, especially clean water, is emerging as a major challenge.
In one Interview with UN NewsInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) spokeswoman Olivia Headon, speaking from Kyiv, said the agency, along with other humanitarian partners, has rushed to provide clean water to the areas receiving the evacuees, “and is also trying to do its best. take them to areas in the important region, on the banks of the Dnipro River.”
Waterborne diseases
Some 17,000 people are in the immediate critical area at risk of flooding, but only about 1,000 people have been evacuated away from the dam, as most residents expect to be close to their homes, according to the IOM.
Flooding and a lack of clean water are raising concerns about a rise in water-borne diseases, and humanitarian activists say health response will be “important” in the coming days.
Speaking at the emergency meeting of Security Council on Tuesday night, the United Nations Emergency Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said the “severity of the disaster” in and around the Kherson area, will only become apparent in the coming days.
It is clear that it will have “serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine, on both sides of the front lines,” he said.through the loss of homes, food, safe water, and livelihoods.”
Thousands of lives are at risk
IOM Director-General António Vitorino said Tuesday’s dam’s destruction had put thousands of lives at risk, caused “severe environmental damage and led to further strain on epidemics”. response service in a country that has been dealing with a humanitarian disaster for more than a year. Of war”.
He said that public infrastructure “should never be a goal. Yet now, innocent civilians not only live in the deadly flood zone but also will face shortages of clean water and vital energy supplies in the coming weeksas the humanitarian situation worsens.”
UNICEF aid
United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, told UN News that the agency on Wednesday provided up to 25,000 bottles of water, hygiene supplies and more than 10,000 water purifier tablets.
They have also established teams of skilled relief workers at transfer and evacuation points, to provide psychosocial support to children on the move and to support families.
Damian Rance, Head of Communications and Advocacy at UNICEF Ukraine, said the agency will support displaced people in cash for three months, covering up to five people per household, for all affected families.
Crimea’s supply is threatened
The IOM said the dam failure is expected to also affect water supplies to the Russian-occupied Crimea region and other parts of Ukraine, as well as pose a threat to the country’s cooling systems. Nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. the firm (IAEA) said Tuesday there was no “immediate threat”.
Initial assessments by IOM – the largest humanitarian organization operating in Ukraine – indicate that drinking water and food are priority needs, and in collaboration with local authorities, the agency plans to expanding water and sanitation support, distributing emergency items, supporting collective centers, and providing healthcare.
“Despite the devastation caused by war and the challenges posed, we must invest in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. While meeting urgent needs, we must also remain highly focused. into Ukraine’s peaceful future,” said Vitorino.
A woman is evacuated from the flooded Kherson residential area after the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was destroyed.
