In Photos: Turkish town witnesses slow submergence as tallest dam takes over

A photograph taken on April 4, 2022 shows pilars and buildings in the rising water of an artificial lake which gradually submerges the village of Yusufeli as it retains the flow of the Coruh river (also referred to as Chorokhi), in Artvin province, in northeastern Turkey.

Local residents look on at their town. The Yusufeli Dam and its Hydroelectric Power Plant Project in the Eastern Black Sea Region has started to hold water, with the electricity production expected to start in May 2023.

A local resident looks on at his town submerged by an artificial lake caused by a dam retaining the flow of the Coruh river. With a total water storage volume of approximately 2.2 billion cubic meters, the double curvature concrete arch dam is Turkey’s highest with a height of 275 meters.

A local resident looks on, as she returned to her flooded home to attempt to retrieve belongings.

Volonteers from an animal rights NGO Haytap paddle a dinghy as they search for stray cats an dogs to rescue in the town of Yusufeli.

A woman carries a bundle of wood in the village of Tekkale, that will soon be submerged by an artificial lake caused by a dam retaining the flow of the Coruh river (also referred to as Chorokhi), in Artvin province, northeastern Turkey.

Local residents attempt to retrieve items from a home in the flooded town of Yusufeli.

An aerial photograph taken on April 5, 2022 shows buildings and the top of a minaret in the rising water of an artificial lake which gradually submerges the village.