Historic Venice flooding.

[elleng]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-weather-venice-idUSKBN1XM2Y5?

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. I've been in Venice during flooding, but nothing like that.

Once I walked around Piazza San Marco in ankle-deep water. Kudos to the mayor for quickly calling the state of emergency.

[fierywoman]

2. I lived there and played in the opera orchestra for 7 years in the 80s...

Thank you goddess for getting me to leave by having part of my orchestra become rabid fascists who didn't want anyone except Italians (preferably born on the islands of Venezia) to belong in the orchestra. So I left. Aqua alta is no fun.

[hatrack]

3. So what happened to the gigantic multi-billion dollar tidal gate?

[fierywoman]

5. A: the usual in Italy: massive delays, scandals, stolen funds, paying off the mafia, etc., etc., etc

[hatrack]

7. Well, that stands to reason . . .

Not that I know much about Venice, but I thought "City of Falling Angels" was fascinating.

[fierywoman]

10. I lived there and played at that opera house for seven years. I actually find Donna Leon's books

to be what Venice (and the scene at la Fenice) to feel more what Venice is about. (I was there pre-fire.)

[2naSalit]

4. Are those giant tourist ships still allowed

to dock there? It's a shame that tourism over-rides the well being of the place.

[Joinfortmill]

6. So sad

I was fortunate to visit this beautiful place.

[demmiblue]

8. Some video:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Mike 03]

9. FWIW "The Water Will Come" by Jeff Goodell has an important

chapter on flooding in Venice, including much about their solution of giant mobile gated walls that rise and fall (if I remember correctly) that is already hugely over budget and years behind schedule.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Venice floods: Climate change behind highest tide in 50 years, says mayor

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50401308?

[progree]

12. Fun fact: Venice is at the same latitude as Minneapolis -- both 45 deg N.

I was agape when I learned that. I associate Venice with the Mediterranean and Minneapolis with cold-as-hell (I live there) ... also the same latitude as southern France which I associate with vineyards.

[elleng]

13. Interesting!

I just checked our pics of visit to Venice, was May/June 2000, I think; had been at wedding in Poland, then Vienna, Venice, Genoa, and Cinque Terre, not cold as hell anywhere!!!

[progree]

14. Venice hit by another big high tide today (Friday)

154 cm high (5.1 feet) - not as high as Tuesday's 187 cm (6.1 feet) -- but still put 70% of Venice underwater and "fraying the nerves of locals who faced yet another large-scale clean-up operation."

"Visiting here you see that the disaster is much bigger than you think when you watch the images on television," he said.

... with the mean sea level estimated to be more than 20 cm higher than it was a century ago (that's 7.9" = 0.66 feet).

... A flood barrier designed to protect Venice from high tides is not expected to start working until the end of 2021, with the project plagued by the sort of problems that have come to characterize major Italian infrastructure programs -- corruption, cost overruns and prolonged delays.

More: https://news.yahoo.com/venice-hit-another-ferocious-high-090317139.html

[elleng]

15. Oh NO,

so on TOP of the old/recent water!!!