Venice Flood – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

Venice 

• The city is made up of more than 100 islands inside a lagoon off the north-east coast of Italy.
• It suffers flooding on a yearly basis.

November 2019 Flooding

• The water levels reached 1.87 meters (over 6 feet, 1 inch) above sea level on 12 Nov., the second-highest level ever recorded in the city and just 7 centimetres (2½ inches) lower than the historic 1966 flood.
• Another wave of exceptionally high water followed on 13th and 14th November as well
• Italy’s government declared a state of emergency
• A cabinet meeting approved a special decree that included 20 million Euros ($21.7 million) in immediate financial aid aimed at helping the city recover.
• Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the flooding as “a blow to the heart of our country,”
• More than 80% of the city was flooded.
• St. Mark’s Basilica was inundated and has suffered irreparable damage.
• Taxi boats and gondolas grounded on walkways flanking city canals.

• Venice’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said the damage is estimated at “hundreds of millions of Euros.”
• He blamed climate change for the situation in the historical city.

Why is Venice flooded so often?

• TIDES
• Venice, built on a collection of small islands within a saltwater lagoon off the north-eastern coast of Italy, has always lived with tides .
• Usually they create variations of around 50 cm in sea levels but which can sometimes be more extreme.
• WEATHER
• Sirocco winds blowing from the south east can drive water into the lagoon, much of which is made up of marshes and mud flats.
• When high tides coincide with strong winds and a low pressure system, the effect can be unpredictable and extreme.
• That is what happened on Nov. 12, when winds of over 100 km an hour hit the city.

• Geology
• The city’s ground level has been gradually sinking, by an estimated one millimetre a year, owing to the soft and shifting geological terrain on which its foundations are built.
• Climate Change –
• Rising sea levels because of climate change.
• The sea level in Venice is 10 centimetres (4 inches) higher than it was 50 years ago.
• Global warming is increasing the frequency and severity of such floods.
• Venice’s Institute of Marine Sciences said with the effects of climate change, rising sea levels and more frequent storms at sea, such extreme events will become increasingly common.

A city sinking under the weight of tourism?

• Venice for years has been struggling with millions of tourists, the constant deterioration of its fragile lagoon environment and a dwindling population.
• The city has about 50,000 residents, but about 20 million tourists visit every year.

What is the Italian govt doing to protect Venice from floods?

• The floods have called for speedy completion of the city’s long-delayed Moses flood defence project.
• A multibillion-euro flood defence project that has been under construction since 2003.
• The project has not yet been activated, after being delayed a number of times due to corruption scandals, costs overruns and environmentalists’ opposition over its effects on Venice’s lagoon ecosystem.

• MOSE (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, Experimental Electromechanical Module)
• The project is an integrated system consisting of rows of mobile gates installed, that are able to isolate the Venetian Lagoon temporarily from the Adriatic Sea during acqua alta high tides.

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