Readiness is all, said Shakespeare. So read how to be prepared in case of Venetian flood.
What is acqua alta or, literally, high water? It is a natural phenomenon,
happening when the high tide occurs at the same time with several other
influences but, simply said, it is the flooding of Venice.
You have probably
seen the photos of flooded San
Marco Square. It happens regularly with acqua alta. Such photos instantly makes
you think that the whole city is
under water, but, actually, it is not so. Most
often, the whole city is not flooded, and this partial flood as a rule lasts
only a couple of hours. First of all, the usual tide turns every six hours,
which means that water rises for six hours, and in the next six hours naturally
recedes.
Acqua alta, usually happens at the peak of the tide, which means
that the flood rarely lasts more than two or three hours and usually covers
some 20-30
percent of the town, and very rarely the whole city. However, the San Marco is
the lowest point of Venice and when the flood begins, this magnificent square,
which is the most famous Venetian sight, is always under water, as well as the other
parts town nearest to the shore or biggest canals, above all the Canal Grande,
which is also the main traffic artery for the water bus vaporetto, for example, the Rialto bridge and the namesake market.
These are, of course, the most visited and photographed parts of Venice. Still, in spite of
the photographs of the flooded symbols of the town which look really dramatic
and the impressions of tourists who happen to spend a just couple of hours in Venice when acqua
alta happens, the flood usually does not cover a big part of Venice nor lasts very
long. However, the climate changes also influenced this phenomenon which previously
used to happen some dozen times a year, so that now there are sometimes as many
as fifty floods. In spite of that, the largest flood so far remains the one
that happened on November 4, 1966, when the tide also coincided with terrible
rains, so that the citizens of Venice
had to thread through water up to their shoulders deep, and many shops, restaurants
and hotels and even famous buildings were seriously damaged. Luckily, after
that flood various measures were implemented to ensure that these catastrophic
floods should not happen again.
The citizens of Venice do not fret about
these floods and they are always ready for them. First of all, the weather
forecast and tide are regularly checked, so that
they always know in advance
when
acqua alta will happen, and the
tide is always very accurately predicted, especially for the next 48 hours.
Thanks to this, the citizens always know when to expect the flood,
and the tourists who visit this
marvellous city, especially during winter months, can check the prognosis at
websites such as
http://www.veniceforyou.com/highwaterprev.html.
When the tide comes, the sirens warn everybody of high waters and in a blink of
an eye, all the endangered places are prepared with improvised “bridges“, so
that it is also possible to walk even through those parts of town where water
is deep without getting wet. An almost invisible system of canals and drains is
automatically activated in order to eliminate water from the critical points as
quickly as possible. As soon as the flood appears, the shops and the street
sellers start to offer rubber boots at the usual price of around ten (8-12)
euro, or the plastic covers for the shoes, usually at the price of 5 euro (it
can be more or less, depending on demand).
If you happen to be
in Venice when acqua alta happens, you should not worry
or think you have bad luck. On the contrary, this is an opportunity to see an
interesting phenomenon which is typical of Venice, and also a great occasion to
explore
obscure, inner parts of the town which the tourists rarely get to see. Of
course, you can choose whether you want to get appropriate shoes and wade
through high water at San Marco or, if you have some time to spare, choose to
spend a couple of hours strolling the other parts of town, visiting numerous
palaces, museums and churches, or get into a gondola or
vaporetto and glide through Canal Grande, or simply sit down for a
lunch, drinks of coffee and enjoy Venetian gastronomy and wine till the tide
turns. Whatever you choose, you will surely have a great time, since
Venice is wonderful
always and in any weather.
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