Flood-hit villagers in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region wait for help

MYKOLAIV, Ukraine

Residents of Vasylivka village in southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region are desperately waiting for support to survive after their houses were flooded due to the explosion at the Kakhovka dam on June 6.

Following the explosion at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, the Inhulets River, which flows into the Dnieper River, also overflowed, due to which more than 70 houses in Vasylivka were flooded and became unusable.

“The water rose above the windows in the house. We couldn’t save our stuff. We were only able to save the cats and dogs in the house. We went as a family to the village of Pavlivka next door. For now, our family is there,” Gennady Nezhlukchenko, a Vasylivka resident, told Anadolu.

The homes in the village went underwater three days after the explosion, Nezhlukchenko said, adding that he and his family are now looking for a new home.

“Home support has not yet arrived. We have applied to the state regarding this issue. Nothing was given for the bombed houses either. We need a house where we can stay, at least temporarily. We may have to rebuild a house,” Nezhlukchenko said.

Calling the event a “big disaster,” he said the environment was adversely affected by the flooding because the flood water is not clean and could pose a risk to people’s health.

“Many houses were damaged. Thus, we experienced two disasters. It is difficult to overcome this psychologically. I do not know how we will continue our lives,” he said, adding that the village was under Russian control for about nine months.

Yevgeny, another villager, told Anadolu that he was now homeless because of the flood and did not know what to do in the future.

“We will look for a new house here because it is not possible to renovate our damaged house. This is not a good thing,” Yevgeny said, adding that he is staying at the house of an acquaintance in a village nearby.

Maria Gudko, another flood victim, told Anadolu that her house was flooded and that she needed a new home.

“Everything is underwater. It is no longer possible to live in the house. Neighbors’ houses are also in the same situation. My husband has died. I was left alone on the street. I need a house. I am 80 years old, and I have no place to stay,” she said.

Ukraine and Russia both blamed each other for carrying out strikes on June 6 which led to the destruction of the walls of the Kakhovka dam, resulting in flooding of nearby areas.

*Writing by Burc Eruygur in Istanbul

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