In Kherson, volunteers organize to pump water out of basements
A volunteer, one of the founders of the Tourism and Adventure Center KhersON Pavlo Biletsky who coordinates the work of the water pumping team, said this to Ukrinform correspondent.
"The team has been working in test mode since yesterday. So far, we have pumped out water from three private houses and several condominiums. The team is equipped with pumps, a car, boots and flashlights. Now it is only about pumping out water, without removing debris and draining," explained Biletsky.
He noted that in the future, if the experience proves successful, they will scale up their work by forming a dozen such mobile teams. In the ideal case, these teams should be equipped with a mini-tractor or ATV, a car or a bus with a trailer, they should have a pump for pumping out water, necessary dehumidifiers, as well as chainsaws, shovels, axes to remove garbage. According to Biletsky, the volunteers keep in touch with the rescuers in order to act in a coordinated manner, and they also agree on what kind of garbage to sort (animal corpses, plastic, other garbage) and how to take it away. Biletsky suggests that temporary storage sites will be set up to take the garbage out and dispose of it.
Volunteers also coordinated with rescuers to pump out water that may be conditionally clean and the water that will be pumped out of basements where chemicals may have been stored. If it is "dirty" water, it will be pumped out by sewage trucks. There is also a contact with the relevant department of the Regional Military Administration, which, as planned, can take over the collection of applications. At the moment, there is an application form for liquidating the consequences of flooding in Kherson caused by the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. According to Biletsky, this is a test version of the application so that the already created team does not stand idle and can work.
He said that from the very first hours, civil society organizations joined in to help eliminate the consequences of the Russians' explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Several NGOs began to communicate with each other, created chats, and a single " plate" to cover the needs: NGO "Center for Living History "Oleshshya", NGO "City of Power", Yuriy Antoshchuk - Charity Fund "Unification", Kherson Community Foundation "Protection". They divided the spheres among themselves as to who does what.
"We were able to form one test team to pump out the water using the donations from the benefactors," said Biletsky.
As Ukrinform reported, as of the morning of June 12, 46 cities, towns and villages in Kherson region remain under water: 32 on the right bank and 14 on the left bank, the water continues to recede, and the rescue operation continues. On the liberated territory, 3801 houses are flooded.
On the night of June 6, the Russian army blew up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
