Floodwaters Begin to Recede in Venice - Download Free Phim, Nhac, Phan Mem, Karaoke

conmeo · #1 (**permalink**) 12-03-2008, 01:53 AM

Platforms at Piazza San Marco in Venice on Tuesday

ROME — Floodwaters in Venice began to subside on Tuesday after reaching their highest point in 22 years on Monday, forcing residents and tourists alike to stay inside or venture out in hip-waders.

On Tuesday morning, the waters dropped to 39 inches, down from a high of 61 inches on Monday, the fourth highest flood level in contemporary history, Venice’s Tide Center said.

“We sent out another warning about very high tides this morning,” said Leonardo Cossutta, who runs the center’s control room. He said transportation was returning to normal, although some canal ferries, or vaporetti, were forced to take alternative routes because they could not fit under the bridges. A transport union called off a planned strike because of the floods.

This week’s flooding reached the highest levels since 1986 but they were still below the record 76 inches reached in 1966. Venice sets the flood level at 40 inches.

The waters rapidly flooded into shops and homes early Monday morning. They engulfed the cafe tables in St. Mark’s Square and forced its famous pigeons to find higher ground. In news photos, people waded through the streets in high boots.

Because the water levels rose so quickly, the city was unable to erect the wooden platforms it uses to help pedestrians traverse high waters. On Monday, the city sounded alarms, urging residents to stay indoors.

Venice routinely floods several times a year, but in recent years the phenomenon has worsened. Experts say global warming is the main culprit. The flooding reopened a running debate on the Moses project, a controversial system of offshore dams designed to prevent such flooding.

Work began on the $5.5 billion project five years ago and is expected to be completed around 2011. Had the dam system been in place, “it would have prevented what happened yesterday and also today,” said Flavia Faccioli, a spokeswoman for the state consortium that is building the dams.

Some environmental groups oppose the project, calling instead for reduced carbon emissions. “We’ve seen for a long time that global warming presents problems for a city like Venice,” said Michele Bertucco, the president of the Veneto branch of Legambiente, an environmental organization.

The mayor of Venice, Massimo Cacciari, said the project was moving forward, The Associated Press reported.

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