Kherson dam: emergency humanitarian response underway as thousands flee to neighbouring city

Ukraine: 6 June, 2023 – As thousands flee to Odesa to avoid flooding, additional emergency accommodation and humanitarian aid is urgently being distributed by aid agency, Depaul Ukraine in the city. It follows the news earlier today a dam in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson was breached.

From tomorrow, the charity, which has worked in the country since 2007, will open additional emergency accommodation in Odesa for households displaced by the floods. People who have lost their homes will immediately be able to access humanitarian aid including food and hygiene items and apply for cash transfers to cover their basic needs.

Displaced families will also be able to access Depaul Ukraine’s support across the country, including Zaporizhzhya, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Kyiv. The charity will also set up a fund for repairs to homes in Kherson damaged by the flood when people are able to return.

CEO of Depaul Ukraine Father Vitaliy said: “Our team Odesa has been inundated with calls from people urgently needing accommodation. Since the first day of the war, Depaul Ukraine has worked day-in-day-out to help displaced people with emergency shelter, food and medical supplies – this will be no different.”

Group CEO of Depaul International, Matthew Carter, said: “The international community must act swiftly and respond to this humanitarian disaster. Displacement and homelessness is already a daily reality for Ukrainians, and many of those impacted by this latest crisis will have already lost so much. As ever, Depaul Ukraine has immediately responded by adapting services in Odesa and across Ukraine to support these people for the days, weeks and months ahead.”

For help and support in the country please go to Depaul Ukraine’s Facebook page.

To donate to support Depaul Ukraine’s response, please see here.

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