Photos show the flooded destruction the Kakhovka dam break is causing for tens of thousands of people in Ukraine

The Kakhovka dam was destroyed Tuesday, releasing water from a reservoir into the Dnipro River.

Photos show the destruction the floods are causing an estimated 38,000 people in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia accused each other of blowing it up. Russia controls the area around the dam.

The Kakhovka dam is located in southern Ukraine, east and upstream of Kherson.

The dam was destroyed on Tuesday, and water from the Kakhovka Reservoir it was containing began pouring into the Dnipro River.

Source: Insider — Video shows floods pouring into southern Ukraine's war zone after a major dam was destroyed, sparking a new flashpoint in the war

The floodwaters rushed over buildings.

The water engulfed houses.

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Ukraine and Russia both accused each other of destroying the dam and causing the flooding.

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But Russian forces control the area around the dam. Ukraine's president accused Russia of mining the dam in October.

Source: Insider — Mines are being swept away in the floodwaters and exploding after a key dam in Ukraine was destroyed

An estimated 22,000 people live in Russian-controlled areas that could be affected by the flooding, and about 16,000 live in areas Ukraine controls.

Source: AP

The Kakhovka Reservoir holds about 4 trillion gallons of water.

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The reservoir serves as a cooling source for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and could pose a problem if it drains too much, though that risk is low.

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Stephen Hall, a politics lecturer at the University of Bath, told Insider's Sophia Ankel the "humanitarian disaster" could affect people in the area for weeks to come.

Source: Insider — Video from Ukraine shows an entire house washed away in floods after a crucial dam was destroyed

"It will take a while for the Dnipro to go back into its channel," Hall told Insider. "People will be flooded out, homes will be ruined."

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Hall also warned of the potential for waterborne diseases the floodwaters could spread.

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Residents downstream from the dam were already wading through floodwaters on Tuesday.

Many were forced to evacuate, bringing the belongings they could quickly pack and take with them.

It wasn't just humans who had to evacuate — this man led a cow down a flooded street in Kherson.

And this man brought a dog with him to the train station.

Both Ukraine and Russia sent trains and buses to evacuate residents, and no injuries or deaths were reported.

Source: AP

Before the dam break, the waters had risen so high in the reservoir that they appeared to be spilling over the side, an AP analysis found, with heavy snowmelt and spring rains contributing.

Source: AP

Before the break, you can see a curved chunk of the dam still intact in this satellite image taken on May 28.

You can see the break in the dam in this satellite image.

This satellite image shows the scale of the destruction from the floodwaters.

The floods also have the potential to destroy crops. Wheat prices jumped 3% after the dam break.

Source: AP

For people on the ground, it's another day of man-made devastation in the 16th month of war.

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