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Venice is hit by serious
flooding Venice has been hit by the biggest flood in more than twenty years, with waters rising 1.56m (5ft) above normal Many of Venice's streets, including the famous St Mark's Square, were submerged before the high waters began to retreat The lagoon city in the Adriatic suffers some level of flooding for about two hundred days every year The authorities are planning to complete the building of an underwater dam to protect the city by 2011 Mayor's warning Driven by strong winds, the sea level rose to 1.56m above normal on Monday, submerging nearly all of the city, including St Mark's Square, officials said It was the highest "acqua alta", or high water, since it reached 1.58m in 1986 A system of elevated wooden walkways was set up, while sirens and loudspeaker announcements reinforced the flood alert for the city's residents and tourists Mayor Massimo Cacciari urged residents to stay at home, and warned tourists thinking of coming to Venice to "think again" "It's an exceptional 'acqua alta', and unless you absolutely have to, don't go out" the mayor said in a statement BBC News website reader Hannah McShane said she could not leave her second-floor flat "The residents who live on the ground floor are pumping out the water from their houses with buckets The water is highly polluted and is beginning to smell, as well as leaving behind rubbish of all kinds on the street as the water levels decrease" she said The situation was complicated by a transport strike affecting the city's "vaporetto" water buses Earlier, Venice's Centro Maree, which monitors water levels, warned that the flooding could reach as high as 1.66m above sea level However, the waters began subside after a sudden change in the wind's direction The last time the waters passed 1.6m was in 1979, when they reached 1.66m In 1966, some 5,000 people in Venice were left homeless after an even higher flood - 1.94m - hit the city |
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Venice hit by worst flooding
in more than twenty years As if Venice didn't already have enough issues with water - it is now battling floods due to a savage storm and the highest tide in more than twenty years Ferry and water taxi transport to and from Italy's Renaissance city - made up of dozens of islands on a lagoon - were suspended last night as sirens blared across the city warning locals and tourists to stay indoors Many visitors were told to temporarily remain in Rome - which was also hit by hail, lightening and heavy rains blacking out many parts of the ancient capital - as the extraordinary sea surge saw sea levels rise to 1.56 metres Venice's biggest attraction, St Mark's Square, was underwater by noon leaving restaurants and cafe patrons scrambling through water more than 80cms deep Levels rose so quickly workers had no time to erect emergency walkways "These are exceptionally high waters" Venice's Mayor Massimo Cacciari yesterday told local radio "Do not venture out unless it is absolutely necessary" Throughout the entire 5th Century canal city a network of sirens and loudspeakers warned of the impending flood with, under a news system, warnings also sent out via SMS text message Another storm is expected to hit later today It was the most water seen in the city, which has been engaged in a constant battle to stay afloat, for twenty-two years The worst flooding incident occurred on November 4, 1966, when the city was submerged by 1.94 metres of water amid catastrophic flooding throughout Italy Since March this year, local authorities began Operation Rialto looking at a scheme to raise the city's buildings by a metre using pistons to meet the problem of rising waters They calculated it would take around a month per building if each structure was raised by eight centimetres a day |
