Water levels from the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam are expected to reach "critically high" levels by about 11:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. ET), Oleksandr Samoylenko, head of Kherson’s regional council said on national television.

"The water is rising. We see partial flooding of settlements. Indeed, the river flow has increased," Samoylenko said. Kherson city will be particularly impacted, Samoylenko said, noting that some parts in the lowlands of the Dnipro and Inhulets rivers will also be affected.

Samoylenko added that hospitals are on alert and anyone who needs to be evacuated will be.

Some context: The critical Nova Kakhova dam spans the Dnipro River, a major waterway running through southeastern Ukraine. There are multiple towns and cities downstream, including Kherson, a city of some 300,000 people before Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.