- Title: Kakhovka dam is beyond repair during "catastrophic discharge" says German expert
- Date: 6th June 2023
- Summary: WALCHENSEE, GERMANY (JUNE 6, 2023) (REUTERS) HYDROLOGIST ARND HARTLIEB WALKING TOWARDS CAMERA PAN OF VIDEO OF DAM IN CHERSON REGION TO HARTLIEB (SOUNDBITE) (English) HYDROLOGIST ARND HARTLIEB, SAYING WHILE POINTING AT THE SCREEN: "I can only assess what I see here on the video. I see a really big dam breach here with a catastrophic discharge flowing downstream, I see a big
- Embargoed: 20th June 2023 11:51
- Keywords: Ukraine war Zaporizhzhia
- Location: WALCHENSEE, GERMANY
- City: WALCHENSEE, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA001778506062023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:According to German hydrologist Arnd Hartlieb, the destruction of the Kakhovka dam caused a catastrophic discharge of water. In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday (June 6) Hartlieb said "the discharge is so large that there is no possibility for a reparation during the big flood now."
A huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine was breached on Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across the war zone.
Hartlieb, teaching hydraulic engineering at the University Munich analysed a private video showing the breach. "There's the big breach in the weir, with the weir base and the weir gates. And here is the second smaller breach in the area of the power plant, the area of the turbines", Hartlieb said, adding that there is the possibility of an enlargement of the breach.
With water levels surging higher, many thousands of people are likely to be affected. Evacuations of civilians began on both sides of the front line. "I think large areas are flooded, I hope in a slow velocity because the area is very flat and maybe there is enough time to save the people living there", Hartlieb said.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest, gets its cooling water from the reservoir. It is located on the southern side, now under Russian control. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said according to their current assessment there is no immediate risk to the safety of the plant.
Ukraine said Russia has destroyed the dam, while Russia said Ukraine sabotaged it to cut off water supplies to Crimea and distract attention from a "faltering" counter-offensive.
(Production: Ayhan Uyanik, Christine Uyanik, Matthias Baehr, Lena Toepler) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None