Venice High Water in November 2012 - Similar to Venice High Water in November 2008

(Venice, Italy) High tide was exceptional here in Venice today, with seventy percent of the city flooded. Venetians and shopkeepers were caught off-guard, as the tide was predicted to rise only to 120 centimeters. Instead, it rose to 149 centimeters, or nearly five feet.

This is not the first time this has happened. We had a very similar situation in November and December 2008, four years ago when Barack Obama first won the US presidency. He has just won a second term, and I am very pleased about that, as is most everyone else who cares about the Earth and all the creatures who live upon it. We are all much wiser now, and this time things were not as dramatic as they were four years ago. You can read what I wrote about that here, and keep clicking "Older Post" at the very bottom on the right if you would like to read the acqua alta reports that led up to this particular post:

What is Aqua Alta and is it Dangerous?

Photo: Jonathan Ulman

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, this year I've decided to pull some news stories together for you so you can just click on the headlines to read more. This evening, over by Rialto all the street lights were still out around 9PM, otherwise things are pretty much back to normal.

Near the end of this post is an amateur video of those tourists in the top photo swimming to their table in the middle of Piazza San Marco.

From the Huffington Post:

Venice Flooding Fails To Discourage Tourists, While 200 Evacuated After Heavy Rain In Tuscany

Meanwhile in Venice ‘acqua alta’ or high water season, has been one of the highest ever recorded, with some parts of the city submerged under five feet of water.

From The Guardian:

Photo: Marco Secchi-Getty Images

Venice 'high water' floods 70% of city

Venetians direct anger at forecasters after 'exceptional and unpredictable' rise in sea waters floods homes and businesses

Tourists attached plastic bags to their legs or stripped off to take a dip in St Mark's Square in Venice on Sunday as rising sea waters surged through the lagoon city. High water measuring 1.49 metres (5ft) above the normal level of the Adriatic sea came with bad weather that swept Italy at the weekend, causing floods in historic cities including Vicenza as well in the region of Tuscany 250 miles further south.

From the Daily Mail: 

The Floating City: Heavy rains flood Venice and reach the sixth highest tide level in 150 years

70 per cent of central Venice underwater today reaching 59 inches

Tourists waded through waters in wellington boots and donned swimwear

Iconic St Mark's Square flooded leaving normally bustling square deserted

It may be known as the Floating City of love.
But romance was cast aside today as gondolas were swapped for wellington boots and swimwear.
High tides and heavy rain flooded Venice's dry streets, leaving tourist hotspots virtually deserted.
Tourists chose to wade through the waters in boots, with one group donning swimwear to sit at a table in the iconic submerged St Mark's Square.

And here's that amateur video of the tourists going for a swim in Piazza San Marco:



Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog