What’s the story on high-tide flooding in Venice?
[Cafe chairs are stacked during flooding of St. Mark's Square today.]
Does anyone in Italy know Venice is flooding?
La Repubblica, one of Italy’s national daily newspapers, left the story about Venice’s worst flooding in two decades on Monday off its front page, L.A. Times staff writer Susan Spano reports from Rome.
And the global International Herald Tribune ran only “a photo and a caption saying ferry service had been suspended and the mayor urged people to stay indoors,” Spano writes.
Venice today continues to be battered by flooding after an unusually high tide peaked at 5 feet, 1 inch on Monday (Dec. 1), according to the Associated Press.
[Tourists use a makeshift boardwalk Tuesday over floodwaters in Venice.]
“On Monday, the knee-high water invaded shops, damaged merchandise, idled transportation including the city’s public water buses and led to some power cuts. Most Venetians were surprised because authorities didn’t initially forecast such a high tide level, but no damage to the city’s artistic treasures was reported,” the AP reports.
[A man pulls a trolley through the flooded St. Mark's Square on Tuesday]
Spano writes that “lacqua granda,” as the high tides are called in Italian, usually happens in November. She said it was raining all over Italy today — storms that included thunder and lightning in Rome.
The AP says the city has a plan to build movable barriers that would “rise from the seabed to ease the effect of high tides,” but they won’t be ready until 2010.
— Mary Forgione, L.A. Times staff writer
[Photos: Franco Debernardi / Getty Images.
4 Comments on “What’s the story on high-tide flooding in Venice?”
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December 2nd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I moved from Santa Monica to Venice last year and I’m actually surprised at how much press the acqua alta received yesterday. Flooding is quite common in Venice, this autumn has been especially rainy, so the high water wasn’t all that surprising to the Venetians. It’s much like having an earthquake in LA, happens quite regularly but the bigger ones make the international papers.
I would like to let people know that many Venetians, especially shop owners have been quite disappointed with the press telling tourists to stay away or cancel their vacations due to the high water. Acqua alta is common. There is a robust system in place to deal with it. Please don’t cancel your plans to visit Venice, the shop owners especially need the business in this less-than-busy time of year.
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Thank you for that reassurance. I am due to visit Venice with my son on Dec 10th and was uncertain of the situation with regard to travellers. However, after reading your comments, we shall continue to look forward to visiting Venice, even if we have to pack our wellington boots. Chao!
February 9th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
were is pennsylvania it
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
hotel venezia…
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