IAEA's Grossi Visits Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant after Dam Breach

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi visits the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and its surrounding area in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, June 15, 2023. (International Atomic Energy Agency/Handout via Reuters)

17:27-15 June 2023 AD ـ 27 Thul-Qi’dah 1444 AH

IAEA's Grossi Visits Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant after Dam Breach

The head of the UN atomic energy agency visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine on Thursday and said it was unrealistic to expect Moscow and Kyiv to sign a document on the site's security while fighting raged nearby.

Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was inspecting the state of the nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, following last week's devastating breach in the Kakhovka dam downstream on the Dnipro River.

The plant uses a cooling pond to keep its six reactors from potentially disastrous overheating. The Kakhovka reservoir was normally used to refill the pond but cannot do so now because of its falling water level following the breach, officials say.

Instead, the pond, which is separated from the reservoir, can be replenished using deep underground wells, they say.

Grossi, who had to pass through a Russian checkpoint to reach the plant, which is located near the military frontline, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying the situation at the site was "serious" but that the level of cooling water was sufficient.

He also said that IAEA inspectors would remain at the site.

"We have a political agreement which was formulated at the (United Nations) Security Council. Reaching a written agreement would be unrealistic at this stage because, as we know, there are no peace or ceasefire negotiations between the parties," TASS news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

Grossi's trip to the Zaporizhzhia plant was delayed by a day for security reasons amid continued heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Russian forces captured both the nuclear plant and the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent them into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Grossi has repeatedly called for an end to fighting in the vicinity of the facility to avoid any catastrophic accidents. The plant's six reactors are currently in shutdown.

Russia and Ukraine blame each for shelling the facility. This has repeatedly cut power lines. There are diesel generators at the plant, which also has alternative water sources.

Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia's state nuclear energy firm Rosatom, was quoted by RIA news agency as saying that Grossi had observed during his visit the security measures taken at the plant to ensure its safety following the breach of the dam.

Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)

09:10-5 November 2024 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Ula 1446 AH

Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

Rescue workers on Tuesday were sifting through smoldering debris and thick mud in search of survivors, a day after a volcano on Indonesia’s remote island of Flores erupted with fury, killing at least nine people with its searing lava and ash.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, and searing lava, gravel and ash were thrown up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from its crater, blanketing nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to flee.

The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday lowered the known death toll from an earlier report of 10, saying it had received updated information from rescuers that a victim trapped under tons of debris in a collapsed house who was feared dead was eventually rescued alive and was now in critical condition at a hospital. The agency said 63 other people were hospitalized, 31 of them with serious injuries.

More than 2,400 villagers streamed into makeshift emergency shelters after Monday's powerful eruption that burned down seven schools and 23 houses, including a convent of nuns, on the majority-Catholic island, said the agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari.

Smoldering debris, thick mud and a power blackout hampered the evacuation and search efforts, said Kensius Didimus, a local disaster agency chief,

"We’ll do everything we can to evacuate villagers by preparing trucks and motorbikes for them to flee at any time," he said, adding that the debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main roads on the island.

Authorities warned the thousands of people who fled the volcano’s wrath not to return during Tuesday’s lull in activity. But some were desperate to check on livestock and possessions left behind. In several areas, everything — from the thinnest tree branch to couches and chairs inside homes — was caked with ash.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads that were covered in heavy gray ash and houses covered by thick gray mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

The country’s geology agency said a series of eruptions since Thursday had created an accumulation of hidden energy due to a blockage of magma in the crater, which reduced detectible seismic activity while building up pressure.

"The eruptions have eased pressure that had been building under a lava dome perched on the crater," said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, who heads the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation. "But we should anticipate hot ash and debris could tumble down from the crater due to heavy rains."

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his Cabinet and disaster and military officials to coordinate the response, said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.

The country’s volcano monitoring agency increased the volcano’s alert status to the highest level and more than doubled the exclusion zone to a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius after midnight on Monday as eruptions became more frequent.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province known locally as the husband and wife mountains. "Laki laki" means husband, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Frans Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed since then due to seismic activity.

This is Indonesia’s second volcanic eruption in as many weeks. West Sumatra province’s Mount Marapi, one of the country’s most active volcanos, erupted on Oct. 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing nearby villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

IAEA's Grossi Visits Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant after Dam Breach

IAEA's Grossi Visits Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant after Dam Breach

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Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

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