Venice under water as complex dam system fails to activate

Residents pulled on their rubber boots once more to deal with flooding

Last updated: December 09, 2020 | 08:56

AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Senior Web Editor

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Venice's St Mark's Square was under water on Tuesday after a newly installed system of mobile artificial dams failed to activate.

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Residents - long accustomed to perennial "acqua alta" or high water events - pulled on their rubber boots once more to deal with flooding that reached a high of 1.37 metres (4.5 feet) above sea level in the afternoon.

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The waters drowned St Mark's Square - the Renaissance city's lowest area at about one metre above sea level - and invaded the famous basilica as many shopkeepers blocked their entrances with wood panels to keep the water out.

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A massive flood defence system called MOSE aimed at protecting Venice's lagoon during high tide was finally installed in October.

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The network of water-filled caissons is designed to be raised within 30 minutes to create a barrier capable of resisting a water rise of three metres above normal.

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But on Tuesday the system failed to swing into action because the forecast erroneously predicted a rise of only 1.2 metres (four feet) above sea level.

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"To activate MOSE a bigger forecast is necessary," Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told the Italian news agency Agi. "We will have to review the rules of the command post."

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The water reached a peak of 1.87 metres (six feet) above sea level on November 12, 2019, one of the highest ever recorded. Dozens of churches with UNESCO World Heritage status were damaged.

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The MOSE infrastructure project began in 2003 but was plagued by cost overruns, corruption scandals and delays.

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The project has cost about seven billion euros ($8 billion), versus an original estimate of two billion.

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