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The dam system was not activated in time because meteorologists were not expecting such a tsunami.
The unexpectedly strong sirocco wind raised the water level in the lagoon city of Venice to 138 centimeters on Tuesday, three inches higher than forecasters had predicted. The lagoon city was flooded without the MOSE dam system being activated in time. The water also entered the Basilica of San Marcos. “If the water continues to rise, the chapels inside the basilica will also be flooded,” the authorities warned, according to local media.
The community claimed that the MOSE dam system had not been activated because climate experts expected a 130-centimeter tidal wave on Tuesday morning. The worsening of the meteorological situation occurred suddenly, so the city reacted without being prepared.
The use of MOSE should be planned 48 hours in advance. In recent days, the dam system had been used twice to keep the lagoon city dry. On Wednesday night, barriers will be raised to protect the lagoon city from another tsunami, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro reported. He admitted that the procedures for establishing the dam system had to be changed. Brugnaro said a pre-alarm system should be introduced even when the tsunami is low.
The flood brings back memories of the drama that happened 13 months ago in the city of the lagoon. On the night of November 13, 2019, Venice was flooded by a catastrophic tidal wave. The water, driven by the sirocco wind, rose to 187 centimeters above sea level. That was the highest level since the devastating 1966 flood, when 194 centimeters was reached.
Economically difficult situation
Venice has not been the same city since that dramatic night. The symbol of mass tourism, in whose alleys up to 130,000 people frolicked every day, has stagnated. Although the UNESCO city repaired the damage relatively quickly, tourists have stayed away since dramatic November 2019. Three months after the “acqua alta,” as Venetians call the family phenomenon, the coronavirus epidemic broke out in the northern Italy, forcing the lagoon city and all of Italy into an unprecedented blockade. Since then, Venice’s tourism and economic decline has begun, with no end in sight.
The MOSE mobile dam system was used successfully for the first time in October. Despite the 125-centimeter “Acqua Alta”, San Marcos Square remained dry. Bureaucracy, corruption scandals, and different political and economic interests had repeatedly delayed the billion dollar project. In December, the dam system was turned on twice.
All of Italy has been covered in a bad weather front for days. The regional president of Veneto, Luca Zaia, spoke of damages in the northeast region amounting to 500 million euros. According to the civil protection authority, the highest red level of meteorological alert was applied on Tuesday for the regions of northeast Italy and around Rome and south of it.
(WHAT)
