Venice flooding called state of emergency
ROME — Italy’s Cabinet declared a state of emergency for the city of Venice on Thursday after the worst flooding in more than half a century devastated shops, churches, monuments and other areas of the historic tourist destination.
The Cabinet approved 20 million euros ($22 million) in emergency aid for the UNESCO World Heritage city. Private citizens would be eligible for 5,000 euros in relief, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, while businesses could apply for up to 20,000 euros.
The money would help support “the city and the population,” Conte tweeted after the Cabinet meeting.
High winds drove water levels to a peak height of 74 inches above sea level on Tuesday — the highest level since 1966. More than 80% of the historic city has been flooded, though the extent of the damage remains unclear.
“I have not seen anything like this,” Venice resident Ezio Toffolutti told dpa. “It’s a disaster. It’s like a war. We knew it.” Shops and supermarkets located at canal level got hit particularly badly, he said. “An awful time,” he said. The water gauge in Venice sank to 44 inches early Thursday, though the water level has been forecast to reach 57 inches on Friday. Schools are expected to remain closed, as is the city’s Doge’s Palace landmark.
Venice’s buildings sit on many thousands of wooden stilts that raise them just a short distance above the water at normal levels. This construction has meant the city has always been prone to flooding.
The Italian government has invested in a controversial anti-flooding system, but the so-called MOSE dam is not yet operational.
The 5.5 billion-euro floodprotection project with massive barriers at three entrances to the lagoon was supposed to be in operation in Venice by 2014. Construction began more than 15 years ago, but a corruption scandal has delayed the project’s completion. Critics have doubted the dam’s effectiveness, with some claiming it was prone to rusting and others complaining that the intrusion in the lagoon’s sensitive ecosystem would do more harm than good.
The rapid spread of pictures of the flooding on social media has been followed by politicians rushing to assure that the project would be ready next year.
“There have been many scandals in recent years,” Infrastructure and Transport Minister Paola De Micheli said in a radio interview. “There were serious delays.” She added that 93% of the project had already been completed.