A senior Ukrainian military official said settlements on the banks of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region are starting to experience flooding following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam early Tuesday.

As water in the Kakhovka reservoir continues to rapidly gush out, Ukrainian officials have warned the levels will be "critically high" in a matter of hours. The reservoir typically holds around 18 cubic kilometers of water, about equal to the Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah, according to Reuters.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said in a statement on Telegram Tuesday that around 16,000 people on the west bank of the river are in a "critical zone."

As of 7:30 am local time (12:30 a.m. ET), the following settlements are fully or partially flooded, according to Prokudin:

Tiahynka

Lvove

Odradokamyanka

Ivanivka

Mykilske

Tokarivka

Poniativka

Bilozerka

Ostriv microdistrict of Kherson

cityAbout 80 settlements, most of which are occupied by Russian forces, are in the zone of potential flooding, Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs said earlier.

"We understand that other settlements will be flooded, and we are ready for this,” Prokudin added.

Evacuations: More than 700 Kherson residents have already been evacuated, according to Ukrainian officials. Prokudin said they would first be taken to Kherson city, "then to Mykolaiv and from there to Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv and other cities."