Venice is currently experiencing unusually low water levels. According to the Italian authorities, traffic on smaller canals has been halted. Sometimes the gondolas lay in the mud, they said.
At low tide, the water level repeatedly dropped 2 feet below normal. Authorities still expect low water over the weekend. Experts attribute the state of emergency to high pressure above Italy and unusual wind conditions, among other things.
It hasn’t rained in weeks and some rivers have dried up. Tourists anxiously photograph the dry canals. How deep the water has sunk can be seen from the moorings of the “Vaporetti”, the typical water boats in Venice. The wooden jetties protrude high from the water, some motor boats almost disappear under them.
Flooding common problem
Flooding is usually a problem in the lagoon city. On the night of November 13, 2019, Venice was hit by a catastrophic tidal wave. The water rose – propelled by the sirocco wind – to 1.87 meters above sea level. In 2021, the MOSE dam system was activated to protect Venice from a flood. Located at three entrances to the lagoon city’s harbor, the flood gates were built in a controversial multi-billion-dollar marine construction project.
Italy suffered from a drought last summer. The longest river, the Po, dried up in some places, and large lakes such as Lake Garda also had significantly less water than normal, reducing water consumption in the affected areas.
Source: Krone
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