Ukraine's Interior Ministry reported on June 6 that 885 residents of Kherson Oblast had been evacuated as of 11:00 a.m. local time following Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam.
Evacuation is ongoing as around 80 settlements are at risk of potential flooding, according to the ministry, most of which are under Russian occupation.
According to a Kyiv Independent employee on the ground, local authorities in Kherson are conducting partial evacuation from the central part of the city and the Ostriv district.
Flooded houses and other buildings are seen on the edge of the Ostriv district, located on the Dnipro River's bank. The movement to the district is restricted, and some public transport routes in the city have been suspended, the employee said.
"In general, there is no panic (in Kherson), but it (the dam destruction) is the only thing that people are talking about, everyone is discussing it in the queues."
While rescue workers were evacuating civilians from Kherson, Russian forces shelled the city, injuring two police officers, the ministry said earlier.
Around 16,000 people's homes in Kherson Oblast are located in "critical risk" zones for flooding, according to Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam across the Dnipro River on the morning of June 6, sparking a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.
Built in 1956, the power plant is crucial to Ukraine's energy infrastructure. According to Ukraine's state hydroelectric power company, the damage caused by the breach is "impossible to repair."
Around 16,000 people's homes in Kherson Oblast are reportedly located in "critical risk" zones for flooding.
Olena Goncharova
