The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant risks being flooded
with consequences for safety if the Kakhovka dam, whose reservoir has filled to excess, were to give way: the adviser to the CEO of Rosenergoatom sounded the alarm in Tass , Renat Karchaa.
“The failure of this dam poses a threat to both Energodar and the Zaporozhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Power lines leading to the cooling ponds and pumping plants could be flooded. This will create problems for the use of the station and risks for nuclear safety," he said.
According to Karchaa, if the dam were to collapse,
at least three major populated areas would be inundated
Kamenka-Dneprovskoye, Blagoveshchenka and Vodyanoye, which are home to around 15,000-18,000 people in total.
"Two solutions are possible. One is for the Ukrainians to stop their shelling and allow us to repair the dam gates damaged by their artillery. In this case we would dump the excess water and this threat would be eliminated. The other is to evacuate all those people," he said.
Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We are Together with Russia movement, earlier told TASS that the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir has risen by 17 metres, which is "2.5 meters higher than normal".
The dam, he confirms, could break, engulfing tens of thousands of people in the flooded area.
