Floods in Venice: St. Mark’s Square is flooded with water after heavy rain

Venice was flooded again when officials warned of a “dire situation” a year after the city suffered a billion pounds of damage in the flood.

Bad weather, including heavy rains and high winds, caused the tide to rise in Venice, and the high tide reached 122 cm this morning. This surprised authorities before they could activate the huge flood barriers that were only rolled out two months ago.

Those tides then peaked at 5 feet when strong sirocco winds blew from Croatia and flooded two rivers near the sea around the historic Italian city.

The system of 78 lock gates, known as Mose, guard the entrance to the Venice Lagoon and is designed to protect the city from tides of up to 3 meters. However, 48 hour notification is required for activation.

Weather reports in the past few days had predicted precipitation that pushed the sea level to 120 centimeters below the 130-cm threshold at which the flood barriers are operated.

A woman in a red dress on a flooded St. Mark’s Square on December 8th after heavy rains and strong winds

People walk across a flooded street in Venice on Tuesday. Bad weather with heavy rain and strong winds caused the tide to rise in Venice and the high tide reached 122 cm high this morning

One view shows a flooded St. Mark’s Square on December 8th. According to the local authorities, the water is expected to rise to a maximum of 145 cm today

A person takes pictures while standing on flooded St. Mark’s Square on December 8th

On December 8th, after heavy rains and strong winds, people walk past a flooded St. Mark’s Square via an arcade

A couple is walking holding hands on the flooded St. Mark’s Square

Video footage recorded in the city shows the legendary St. Mark’s Square or St. Mark’s Square flooded with flooding.

Carlo Alberto Tessein, procurator of the Basilica San Marco, described the situation as “terrible” and said the water had got into the historic building and was risking damage.

The mayor of the city, Luigi Brugnaro, wrote on Twitter: “3:10 pm … Now I am in the Centro Maree to follow the development of the situation. Next maximum 145 cm at 4:40 pm due to the anomalous wind gain. The MOSE system is not active. ‘

Brugnaro said the weather suddenly worsened and the water peaked at 5 feet when strong sirocco winds blew in from Croatia and flooded two rivers near the sea around Venice.

He called for faster and more reactive protocols for Moses’ operation to deal with sudden changes in weather.

A person takes photos while standing on a flooded St. Mark’s Square in Venice on December 8th, after a flood event “Alta Acqua” after heavy rains and strong winds

People take photos on December 8th in the middle of a flooded St. Mark’s Square

At high tide people walk on the flooded St. Mark’s Square

People were seen on a traditional boat on a flooded street in Venice, Italy

At high tide, workers can be seen on the flooded St. Mark’s Square

A person poses for a picture in flooded St. Mark’s Square

“The situation is terrible, we are under water,” said Carlo Alberto Tesserin, who is responsible for the administration of St. Mark’s Church, adding that all the inner chapels would be flooded if the water continued to rise.

The Venice area tide prediction center said the water would go back to 120cm on Wednesday and back to 135cm on Thursday.

Floods, or “Acqua Alta” in Italian, have been a regular occurrence in Venice over the years, caused by a combination of factors exacerbated by climate change – from rising sea levels to abnormally high tides to land subsidence that caused the ground to descend City to sink.

Of the 24 tides ever recorded above 140 cm level, 15 have occurred in the past two decades, including five last November when the city’s St. Mark’s Square was submerged under a meter of water.

Construction of the multi-billion dollar Mose Project, planned in 1984, began in 2003, but has been plagued by delays, corruption and cost overruns. The 78 yellow barriers were tested in July and then raised in October.

On December 8th in Venice, people walk through a shopping arcade on a flooded St. Mark’s Square after a flood event “Alta Acqua” after heavy rains and strong winds

On December 8, 2020, a woman in Venice clears her flooded shop after a flood event “Alta Acqua” after heavy rain and strong winds, and the mobile gates of the experimental electromechanical module MOSE, which protects the city of Venice from flooding, were not raised

Heavy rain and strong wind caused the tide to rise in Venice. Imagine two people in umbrellas walking in St. Mark’s Square

It comes after Venice was hit three times by floods last year – twice in November and once in December – causing damage amounting to a billion euros.

Italy declared a state of emergency in November 2019 after floods brought carnage to the city, flooded the historic basilica and left “widespread devastation”.

Venice authorities said the damage ran into hundreds of millions of pounds in the past year, including millions in St. Mark’s Basilica alone.

On December 8, 2020 in Venice after a flood event “Alta Acqua” after heavy rainfall and strong winds and the mobile gates of the experimental electromechanical MOSE module that protects the city, a man walks through an arcade on a flooded St. Mark’s Square in Venice from floods , were not canceled

One view shows a flooded St. Mark’s Square and a glowing Christmas tree installation by the Italian artist Fabrizio Plessi on December 8th

A shopkeeper protects the water from penetration on December 8th in Venice after a flood event “Alta Acqua” after heavy rains and strong winds

One view shows a flooded St. Mark’s Square at the Doge’s Palace and a glowing Christmas tree installation by Italian artist Fabrizio Plessi on Tuesday

People walking past the Rialto Bridge at high tide

People standing in a flooded cafe this morning when the flood reached heights of 122 cm

The system of 78 lock gates, which should protect the city from tides of up to 3 meters, must be activated within 48 hours. Pictured people walking in a flooded street