December 1, 2008

Woke this morning to sirens.  It had been raining for days, and all night last night too. The sirens were announcing there would be aqua alta,  high water, today.  Sometimes Venice seems so quiet, with little ‘to do’.  But when I think of leaving, I feel a gut-wrenching sadness. And when I think it could disappear, I feel despair.

The sirens give 3 to 4 hours notice, and now there’s a system using different numbers of sounds to let you know how severe the flooding will be.  Today it was five, the highest.  I thought I’d put on my rubber boots and go out, but by the time I’d gotten up and looked, the water in some areas was so high that my knee-high boots wouldn’t have sufficed.  Would need hip boots to get through.

It’s a terrible feeling seeing Venice flooded, especially in parts, such as where I’m living now, that usually don’t ever flood.  The street and campo, Campiello Widman, just outside the house, were completely inundated, and water had come into the house and entered the cantina, or storage area.  My friend, in whose home I’m staying, has a lot of things there and she was at work, so another friend and I did our best to put boxes and suitcases on higher levels, sloshing around in our rubber boots.  

They predict and monitor the high water, and information is posted on a website and in San Marco. But it’s hard to tell how high it will go. There are also some electronic displays, such as the one at Piazzale Roma.  When the water is very high, 12 percent of Venice can be affected.   Passarelle, wooden walkways, are put up and you can take these through many parts of town.  Some stores have pumps to siphon out the water.

Apparently, today’s floods were higher than they’ve been in 20 years.  The sea level topped 156 centimeters, or 61 inches!  The water rose so fast they city wasn’t able to install enough wooden walkways to cover all areas.  More high water is predicted for tomorrow.

Giant gates, called MOSE, are currently being constructed at the entrances to the lagoon, but many fear it will destroy the ecological balance of the city, whose rios and canals are refreshed daily by the tides.