Sirens Sound Again in Deluged Venice
of flood sirens and the lapping of water as the already-deluged Italian city was struck by a new tidal surge, further damaging ancient monuments, palaces and churches and striking fear into residents.
Although the new high tide,
swollen by days of torrential rains, didn't reach the height of Tuesday's
"acqua alta," or high waters, authorities say that more than 80
percent of the stricken city, a UNESCO world heritage site, is covered in water
with shops marooned, homes flooded, and street kiosks and newsstands washed
away.
The Italian prime minister,
Giuseppe Conte, declared a state of emergency Thursday after sewage-tainted
rivers coursed down Venice's narrow streets and flooded the city's iconic St.
Mark's Square. He called the flooding "a blow to the heart of our
country" before taking a tour by powerboat to visit businesses and locals
impacted by the tide.
On Tuesday, the water level surged 1.87 meters above normal, the
highest since it rose 1.94 meters during a 1966 flood that drove many Venetians
to leave the city, never to return.
Federal and local authorities
have blamed climate change for the flooding of one of the world's most stunning
artistic landmarks. Environment Minister Sergio Costa says much of the problem
lies with the "tropicalization" of weather in the Mediterranean
region. The tides have been worsened by sirocco winds blowing in from Africa,
forcing water up the Adriatic Sea into Venice's lagoon.
But many locals say governments
have not done enough to protect the city and have abjectly managed a new
planned-but-as-yet-incomplete system of sea defenses.
Irreparable
damage
The city, which consists of
more than 100 islands inside the lagoon, suffers yearly flooding but the
current deluge is extreme and will leave a permanent mark on the city,
according to Venice's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro. The crypt of the 11th century St.
Mark's Basilica was flooded for the first time since 1966.
"It was as if a huge wave
entered our basilica," Carlo Alberto Tesserin, head of the board
responsible for the building, said earlier in the week.
The Patriarch of Venice, Francesco Moraglia, said water damage
to the basilica's marble columns and gold leaf mosaics was irreparable.
Many tourists this week left
the city struggling to maneuver their luggage along raised trestle walkways.
Others stayed, determinedly snapping selfies.
Many residents said the damage
would be repaired and that they would never migrate from their beloved Venice,
demonstrating their defiance by stopping for morning coffee and standing in
flooded bars.
Government
blamed
But mixed with defiance is
anger at the failure of successive Italian governments to complete an
innovative flood defense system called the MOSE project, an integrated system
of 78 gates installed at inlets able to isolate the Venetian Lagoon from the
Adriatic Sea during high tides and designed to protect the city from swells of
up to 3 meters.
Construction work began in 2003
but its planned opening in 2016 didn't happen after several delays, mainly
because of cost overruns and corruption scandals.
In 2014, the project was placed under a special administration
in a bid to stop the awarding of corrupt contracts. The project is meant to be
completed by 2022 at an estimated cost of more $6.6 billion. During a recent
test of some of the gates already installed, however, inspectors discovered
serious rust.
"We don't know when we
will reopen. Thank you MOSE!" read a sign tacked on the door of a small
bakery in the San Polo neighborhood of the city. Shop owner Fabio Bagarotto
told reporters, "All the tax money that has been spent on MOSE and it's
not even finished. Politicians don't care about ordinary people."
"They've done nothing,
neglected it. It doesn't work and they have stolen 6 billion euros. The
politicians should all be put in jail," 62-year-old Dino Perzolla told the
French news agency.
The mayor and the country's
transport minister, Paola De Micheli, have pledged the construction work will
get done, but Venetians are skeptical it will be ready by the 2022 deadline.
Giuseppe Conte told the
Corriere della Sera newspaper Friday that he plans to summon a high-level
ministerial meeting for Nov. 26 to discuss the best way to safeguard Venice and
how to speed up the completion of the MOSE project. He said the committee also
needs to examine claims that work done so far has exacerbated the flooding and
whether the excavation of canals to accommodate huge cruise ships has
compounded the problem.
VOA
AFEEF:
Hadhwanaagnews marnaba masuul kama aha Aragtida dadka kale. Qoraaga ayaa xumaanteeda, xushmadeeda iyo xilkeeda sida. waxa kaliya oo Hadhwanaagmedia dhiirigalinaysaa, isdhaafsiga aragtida, canaanta gacaliyo talo wadaagga!