Venice flooding

[spartina]

I found a website that has a lot of information about the flooding issue in Venice and what is being done about this huge issue.
Check out http://www.veniceinperil.org
Its a very informative site, and I learnt quite a bit.

[spartina]

heres an update on the flooding, apparently one of the plans to make sea gates has passed, and is expected to take over 10 (?!) years to complete

$5.2B Project to Save Venice to Proceed - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050929/ap_on_re_eu/italy_flood_barriers

[fossilfly]

This non profit site has some good information on the flooding in Venice as well as some other restoration and preservation projects: http://www.veniceinperil.org/

[fossilfly]

on the flip side, the "aqua alta" problem that has plagued venice for so many years has completeely reversed , at least for this year. The gondolas are grounded as the water levels are too low. The last time I was in venice, the platforms were out for pedestrians as the water was at least 8" deep in many areas.
copyright http://www.theage.com.au


Original article:http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/venice-canals-run-dry/2008/02/20/1203190871832.html

February 20, 2008 - 11:14AM

No gondola rides were on offer in Venice on Tuesday as the canal city known for its struggle with ever-rising water levels was instead left high and dry by an exceptionally low tide.
Experts predicted that by Tuesday afternoon water would be 70 centimetres (28 inches) below sea level after a record 80 centimetres below was set on Monday, the ANSA news agency reported.
Some canals were emptied down to their mud bottoms in a phenomenon that is expected to last until the weekend in the Renaissance city that attracted some 20 million visitors last year.
Gondolas were stranded in the mud, while landing platforms that normally float on the water were seen tilted at giddy angles.
Water buses known as vaporetti had to change their routes to avoid running aground, the daily La Stampa reported.
The lowest level reached before Monday's record was minus 77 in 2005.
In January last year Venice saw four consecutive days of low tide averaging 70 centimetres below sea level.
The more common scourge of "acqua alta" (high water) reached 109 centimetres above sea level last November, while the record remains the 194 centimetres of November 1966, when much of Italy suffered catastrophic flooding.
Meanwhile experts predict higher water than ever next year, according to a complex mathematical model, ANSA said.
Venice has become increasingly vulnerable over time, suffering more than 50 significant floods between 1993 and 2002 and sinking about 23 centimetres over the course of the 20th century.
The government launched the multi-billion-euro "Moses" plan in 2003 to build 78 mobile dikes together to be situated at either end of Venice's lagoon.
The work is scheduled for completion in 2012.

[fossilfly]

This picture, taken in Saint Mark's Square says it all:

In this image released by the SportandNews agency, Duncan Zuur of the Netherlands rides on a wakeboard through a flooded St. Marks Square in Venice, Italy, Tuesday Dec. 2, 2008. The tidal surge peaked at 3 feet, 4 inches (102 centimeters), well below Monday's 5 foot, 1-inch level (156 centimeters), which marked the fourth highest tide in the city's recorded history and the worst since 1986. Still, the water Tuesday was high enough to flood the city's landmark St. Mark's Square and other low-lying areas.

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20081202/capt.a88ebd33dc5a4456a358cd37f6e6f3ab.italy_venice _high_water_th852.jpg?x=400&y=288&q=85&sig=s7p62u_i3pdByLmCsTFQkg--

(AP Photo/SportandNews)