Venice activates flood defence system as sea levels rise
- The MOSE flood defence system relies on a system of yellow barriers at three tributaries to the city’s main lagoon
- These barriers are supposed to hold back the water and protect the city, along with its most famous sites
Authorities in Venice on Sunday activated the Italian city’s controversial flood defence system as sea levels rise.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on Twitter that floods of 130 centimetres above normal water levels are predicted for Monday morning.
In response, the city’s MOSE flood defence system will be activated, Brugnaro announced.
MOSE relies on a system of close to 80 yellow barriers at three tributaries to the city’s main lagoon.
These are supposed to hold back the water and protect the city, along with its most famous sites, including St Mark’s Square.
The system only had its first run earlier this year, when it protected the city from flooding in October.
However, earlier this month a delay to its activation saw the city submerged by storm surges once again.
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At the time, the delay in initiating the system, which takes around 48 hours to ramp up, was blamed on a communication break down.
The construction project cost almost 6 billion euros and had been planned over decades, with work beginning 17 years ago.
But the long-delayed project became mired in corruption and bureaucracy.
