Water level up 10 metres and still rising at town next to breached dam in Ukraine

The water level at the town immediately adjacent to the breached Nova Kakhovka dam has risen by 10 metres (33 feet) and will increase further, its Russia-installed mayor said on Tuesday.

"The water continues to mount. An evacuation is being carried out of civilians from the adjacent flooded zones to preserve all lives... There is no panic in the town," Vladimir Leontyev said in a video message on Telegram.

Also Read | State of emergency declared in Ukraine's Nova Kakhovka district after dam breach

Ukraine and Russia both blamed each other for the breaching of the vast dam on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.

Leontyev said the peak water level in Nova Kakhovka was expected to be 12 metres. The town still had electricity, but two settlements downstream had been taken off the power grid, Leontyev said.

Also Read | Around 600 houses flooded as dam breach sinks Ukrainian town

An emergencies official accompanying him in the video said the water level was expected to rise for 72 hours before subsiding and allowing authorities to mount a clean-up operation.

Photographs published by Russia's TASS news agency showed the flooded centre of Nova Kakhovka, with waters lapping at the white columns at the entrance to its neo-classical cultural centre.