Homes have been flooded, many have been evacuated, and access to water, especially clean water, is a major challenge.
in a (n Interview with UN NewsInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) Spokeswoman Olivia Headon said from Kyiv that the organization, along with other humanitarian partners, has been accelerating the delivery of clean water to the areas where evacuees are being received, “and also trying to bring them to areas in the critical zone on the banks of the river Bring.” River Dnipro.”
Waterborne Disease
Some 17,000 people are in the immediately critical zone There is a risk of flooding, but only about 1,000 people have been evacuated far from the dam because most people want to stay close to their homes, according to the IOM.
Flooding and a lack of clean water are fueling fears of a rise in waterborne diseases, and humanitarian workers say it is happening Health Response will be “Critical.” in the coming days.
Addressing an emergency meeting of Security Council On Tuesday evening, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said “the sheer scale of the disaster” in and around the Kherson region would only become apparent in the coming days.
He said it was already clear that this would have “serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine on both sides of the front line”.through the loss of homes, food, clean water and livelihoods.”
Thousands of lives at risk
The dam’s destruction on Tuesday put thousands of lives at risk, said IOM Director-General António Vitorino, causing “serious environmental damage and placing another significant strain on aid services in a country already grappling with the humanitarian consequences for more than a year.” has to fight.” of war”.
He said that public infrastructure “should never be a target”. But now innocent civilians not only live in a deadly flooded area, they live there will face major shortages of clean water and key energy sources in the coming weeksas the humanitarian situation worsens”.
UNICEF provides assistance
The United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, said UN News that the agency had provided up to 25,000 bottles of water, sanitary supplies and over 10,000 water purification tablets as of Wednesday.
They have also assembled teams of qualified workers at transit and evacuation points to provide psychosocial support to children on the run and support families.
Damian Rance, head of UNICEF Ukraine’s communications and advocacy department, said the organization will support displaced people with cash transfers for three months, covering up to five people per household for all affected families.
Supply of the Crimea threatened
IOM said the dam collapse is also expected to affect water supplies to the Russian-occupied region of Crimea and other areas of Ukraine, and pose a threat to the cooling systems of the nearby Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, despite the entry into force of the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday there was no “imminent threat”.
Initial assessments by IOM – the largest humanitarian organization working in Ukraine – indicate that drinking water and food are priority needs and the organization plans to do so in coordination with local authorities Upgrading water and sanitation, distributing emergency supplies, supporting collection centers and providing health care.
“Despite the devastation caused by war and the challenges it poses, we must invest in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. At the same time as we cover the state of emergency, we must have a strong focus on Ukraine’s peaceful future,” said Mr. Vitorino.
A woman is evacuated from a flooded area of Kherson after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine.
