Post-Disaster Needs Assessment - 2023 Kakhovka Dam Disaster, Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the RDNA 2, this caused US$135 billion in direct damage to buildings and infrastructure and generating reconstruction and recovery needs of over US$411 billion. 

The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on 6th June 2023 added to the devastating consequence of this invasion. The reservoir provided energy, drinking water, irrigation, and river transport in southern Ukraine. The breach flooded downstream communities and deprived upstream communities of water, necessitating urgent evacuations and humanitarian aid. 

The abrupt release of over 18 cubic km of water in a 4-day period, led to the loss of over 14.7 cubic km of water contained in the dam and affected 80 settlements in four oblasts—Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia—impacting 100,000 residents directly. Up to a million people lost access to drinking water, and 140,000 were deprived of electricity. Protected and Forested Areas suffered massive environmental damage. The dam disaster and consequent floods exacerbated the impacts of the ongoing war. 

Some of the worst affected areas are on the left side of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, under the temporary control of the Russian Federation, impeding the assessment of the full impact.