Venice, a world heritage site known as the capital of water, is in danger of being submerged. Tourists walking across the board at St. Mark's Square, where the storm surge came, became a sight that was repeated every year. (Venice = Shinichi Kawarada)
The frequency of storm surges is increasing. In the 1980s, an average of 2.6 storm surges that caused flooding damage to houses occurred on an average of 2.6 times a year. According to the storm surge countermeasure center in Venice, “If the water level rises 65 centimeters, the garbage collector will be 95 centimeters and the ambulance will not be able to enter the bridge.” It is a matter of life and death for the residents.
The old town is a city created by driving wooden piles into a shallow lagoon where seawater and fresh water are mixed. St. Mark's Square in the center is the lowest, and the marble pillars of St. Mark's Basilica are often in the sea. The city installed a valve in the basement around the temple to prevent water from rising, and piled up the floorboards of the plaza. But it is too expensive to take action in all hazardous areas.
According to the rules of the city, in the case of a new construction, it is prohibited to live below 1.5 meters above sea level, and many people live on the second floor or higher. It is not easy for the elderly to go up and down the stairs of the bridge over the canal. The population of the old city, which was about 100,000 people 40 years ago, has dropped to about 50,000 people.
Studies such as the National Institute of Geophysical Volcano assume that the average sea level in Venice will rise up to about 42 cm in 2050 and up to about 108 cm in 2100. Add to this the rise at high tide. Land subsidence also advances several millimeters a year. The deepest location in the Adriatic Sea and the influence of the south wind from the African continent are overlapping, and serious inundation is a concern. Recorded a tide of 156cm in October last year. If it exceeds 120 centimeters, it will be a dangerous situation where the transfer plate will also be washed away.
“I don't want to make Venice a theme park where people can't live.” The sense of crisis of Maurizio Ferla (60) of the National Institute for Environmental Protection (ISPRA) is a common feeling among residents.
■ Preventing water level rise