[ad_1]
For the people of Venice, “acqua alta” – rising water – is commonplace. The rubber boots were removed again this week when the water rose 1.37 meters above sea level on Tuesday afternoon, writes AFP.
The water flooded St. Mark’s Square, the lowest part of a Renaissance city one meter below sea level. Water also flowed into the famous basilica, and merchants had to barricade its entrances.
In October it was announced with satisfaction that the MOSE protection system had finally been completed, with 78 flood barriers installed on the seabed at three locations in the lagoon. When floods are approaching, they can rise and prevent the Adriatic Sea from flooding the lagoon and the city. MOSE has at least partially protected the city from a flood, read about it here: How Venice managed to stop the rise of water: for the first time more than 1.2 thousand. years.
The barriers are expected to rise in 30 minutes and can hold up to 3 meters of elevated water.
However, the system did not work on Tuesday because an inaccurate flood scale was forecast. The water is expected to rise only 1.2 meters.
“A bigger forecast is needed to activate the MOSE system,” Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of the city, told Italy’s Agi news agency. “We will have to review the rules.”
In October, it was announced that the city would erect barriers when the flooding approached at least 130 cm. When the project is handed over to the city for management, the barriers will be raised as the 110cm flood approaches.
In November last year, the water in Venice had risen to 1.87 meters, which was one of the largest fixed floods in the city. The water has damaged dozens of churches declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
In early October, Venice was historic day: the city was protected for the first time from floods by this system. The city’s customary flood sirens sounded around 8 p.m. Saturday morning, and the trial began after half an hour. 10.10 a. M. the barriers were completely raised and, although the water level outside MOSE rose 132 cm, it remained 70 cm in the lagoon, enough to keep San Marcos Square dry.
The MOSE infrastructure project started in 2003, but was accompanied by many scandals, due to its price, corruption, delays.
The project sowed a total of around 7 billion. although initially it was estimated that it would only need 2,000 million euros. euros.
[ad_2]
