Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the flood-hit southern region of Kherson to assess the situation following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
"Many important issues were discussed. The operational situation in the region as a result of the disaster, evacuation of the population from potential flood zones, elimination of the emergency caused by the dam explosion, organization of life support for the flooded areas," Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.
He also expressed concern about a lack of support following the destruction of the dam.
This comes as the first deaths were reported following the breach of the dam in the Russian-occupied area of southern Ukraine.
Flooding from the breach extends over 600 square kilometres on the Ukrainian-held right bank of the Dnieper River and the Russian-held left bank, according to the governor of the Kherson region.
"The average level of flooding is 5.61 metres. 600 square kilometres of the Kherson region are underwater, of which 32 percent is the right bank and 68 percent is the left bank," Oleksandr Prokudin, said on social media.
Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported emergency services have said that up to 14,000 homes have been flooded, and nearly 4,300 people evacuated in Russian areas.
The state emergency service of Ukraine mentioned that 1,995 people had been evacuated from flooded areas.
The reason for the dam's collapse remains unclear. Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for blowing up the structure while some experts highlighted that it might have been due to wartime damage and neglect.
Anna Bjerde, the managing director for operations said on Twitter that the World Bank is conducting a rapid assessment of damage and needs.
The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam has "many very serious consequences for essential service delivery and the broader environment," she said.
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