Ukraine Emergency: Kherson Flood

By: Inna Vdovichenko, External Director for Ukraine

Flooding the frontline of the war

As the war in Ukraine continues, battle weary citizens had to brace for a new wave of horror: Floodwaters have destroyed swathes of landscapes along one of Ukraine’s most important waterways, destroying villages, killing livestock and endangering the supply of clean water and crops in the country’s food bowl.

The Dnipro river is vast and the reservoir (man-made), is considered one of the biggest in the world holding up to 18 cubic kilometres of water. To put into perspective, Sydney’s harbour holds around 500 gigaletres, or the Kakhovka Resevoir holds approximately 36 Sydney harbours.   The dam wall was built to hold back a vast amount of water and with its destruction, a deluge, a torrent of water made its way downstream.

The dam was built in the 1950s as part of a hydro-electricity power station and it is believed the water could reach as far as 120 kilometres away. Each side of the war blame the other for the devasting environmental disasster and the Institute of War (ISW) said it cannot offer a definitive assessment of who was responsible, but found “the balance of evidence, reasoning, and rhetoric suggests that the Russians deliberately damaged the dam”.

“There is also the possibility, of course, that pre-existing structural damage to the dam eventually caused breakage and flooding, as some sources have additionally suggested, although reports of noises like explosions are not necessarily consistent with this notion.”

For the thousands stranded, life has just become that much harder.

JDC colleagues in Kherson responded to the incident quickly.

Since the start of the conflict, JDC has stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian Jewry to help them overcome extreme adversity. 

Today, this means strategising creative ways to help Ukraine’s most vulnerable Jews survive the winter. With power lines being bombed daily, skyrocketing prices and the threat of further chaos, it is clear that our winter relief operations must be expanded.

JDC is on the ground, devising new ways to bring warmth to Ukraine’s Jews even when heating systems lose power. This means providing Ukraine’s Jews with coal and wood, electric heaters and blankets, wood, boots, coats and heavy sweaters, thick blankets, sturdy sleeping bags, flashlights and individual gas burners so that they can at least heat water for tea.

We will also provide supplemental monetary assistance to offset soaring fuel and energy costs, and we will expand the scope of our operation to include greater numbers of people.

We are also making plans to turn JDC’s Hesed Assistance Centers and JCCs into winter shelters, stocking these community buildings with generators, heaters, water, and food, turning them into temporary safe and warm havens should power fail. These buildings, which already serve as a “second home” for thousands, would briefly transform into literal homes, sheltering Ukraine’s Jews in the face of subzero temperatures. 

With your support, The Joint will provide over 22,100 needy Jews in Ukraine with the help they need to survive the winter. 

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