Climate change works in mysterious ways. Last week I talked about the devastating fires which engulfed a majority of Australia, however, this week I am going to touch upon the floods in Venice, Italy. Considering Venice canals have been known to increase inching higher yearly, they are used to high tide effects. Although, this past November they recorded the second-largest flood in city history. The waters reached a maximum of 1.87 meters or approximately six feet. After visiting Venice this past July, I am devastated to hear about the destruction of various ancient attractions. The beauty of the canals and architecture remain truly unique to Venice.
So how did this catastrophic storm form in the Adriatic Sea? Due to a low-pressure system south of Venice air began to flow counter-clockwise. This created high-intensity winds which found its way straight towards the ancient city. Since Venice is only four feet above sea level, the storm overpowered the city causing about two million dollars worth of water damage. Now the storm was not formed because of drastic climate change, but the sea level rising happens to be human-caused. This includes composites from buildings, an aquifer built in the 1920s which pumps freshwater under Venice, and overall global sea level increase.
Just this month Venice experienced the exact opposite of the floods in November. Instead of being underwater, the canals actually became trenches due to the extreme low tide. Last week it was a record 53 centimeters below sea level. Although the low tide after a storm is particularly rare, it has been seen before.
With floods damaging ancient monuments, such as the St. Marks Basilica, and various shops and restaurants, Venice has been under a state of emergency. Their ideal tourist attractions must undergo intense renovations and provide more protection for future floods. The trenches have also inhibited normal transportation throughout the city and overall decreases the natural beauty that Venice is known for.
Venice is now thinking about their future plans in completing their ongoing project of inflatable gate systems. These gates are planned to rise from the ocean to block storms from infiltrating the city from the Adriatic Sea. While this project will cost over $6.3 billion dollars to complete, the recent events created a motive to increase project production. These gates add a defense that can block up to 3 meters, or 9.8 feet, of storm tides. The inflatable gate system is predicted to be completed by the year 2022. In just two years, Venice could finally be protected from devastating floods and rising sea levels.
Mailonline, Danyal Hussain For. “Canals in Venice Are Left Almost Dry Because of Low Tides.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 14 Jan. 2020, www.dailymail.co.uk.
Masters, Jeff. “Venice Has Its Worst Flood in 53 Years.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2019, blogs.scientificamerican.com.
The destruction in Venice is such a tragedy. I think that it is amazing that engineers are now developing an inflatable gate system to prevent future disasters. It is also very impressive that they predict it will be complete in the next two years. I wonder how Venice plans to fund the implementation of this system? I also wonder how much their economy has been affected by the recent flooding? I would love to visit Venice someday; I hope that when I do they will have overcome this tragedy.
I’ve heard before that the entire city of Venice is supposed to be completely underwater by the year of 2040. I’ve never been to Venice, but it breaks my heart to know that the history of this city can be completely washed away. It’s even more frustrating knowing that this could have been prevented. People do not care enough and are not educated enough to realize that these are real issues. Entire cities and civilizations are being ripped apart because of an overall lack of care for the natural world. I hope that the gate systems you talked about can be enough to stop the projected outcome of Venice. Hopefully people will finally come to realize they need to take action.
I was very concerned to hear about the floods in Venice and I knew that they were widely attributed to climate change. However, I was surprised to hear that the canals now have water significantly beneath sea level…such a reversal creates so many more questions. Whether this is all due to changing sea levels or an increase in natural disasters because of climate change, it is concerning, but I am glad to hear that the city of Venice has plans to protect their city and its infrastructure in the near future.
I just went to Venice 6 months ago, so reading this post was really disheartening for me. I loved it there, and the city holds so much character. It breaks my heart to hear that these floods could wash away the city as a whole, and that such beautiful monuments are being damaged. I feel that the gates provide the best chance for the city to be maintained. As you stated, it may be a large economic expense, but it is better than losing the city as a whole.