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ROME – Severe thunderstorms, small tornadoes that destroyed homes and winds equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane that struck Italy from Piedmont to Sicily earlier this week, killing at least 11 people, Many injured, as well as firefighters and other rescuers struggling to cope with the emergency calls.
In Venice, the fierce winds pushed the high tide to more than 61 inches, or 156 centimeters, above mean sea level on Monday, one of the highest levels ever recorded, plunging much of the city into l & # 39; water. It was the largest flood of the decade in Venice, although well below the record: more than 76 inches above the level set in November 1966.
Venetians and tourists heckled on raised alleyways throughout the city, while others waded in high waters, many carrying plastic bags on their feet. Many shops and restaurants were flooded when the barriers between the doors did not stop the water from entering.
Some tourists decided to go for a swim in the historic Piazza San Marco, opposite the cathedral.
The cathedral itself was damaged by the floods. The water has submerged part of the ground in the central part of the basilica for only the fifth of its history in nine years, officials said. The water covered "several tens of square meters" of the marble pavement in front of the altar of the Madonna Nicopeia, an icon of the twelfth century, and submerged the baptistery, said the council responsible for the building in a statement.
Near the basilica's covered entrance, the mosaic floor was under 35 inches of water, he said, "soaking the monumental bronze doors, columns and marble." Water levels remained above ground in the basilica for 16 hours.
"It may not be visible to the naked eye, but the structures will get old because of the salt water soaking the bricks, which should not stay under the water long; this also applies to the bronze, "said Pierpaolo Campostrini, one of the members of the board of directors. "The bricks are like sponges, and if the water level does not drop, the water rises several meters from the level of the mosaic."
"In a day, the basilica is 20 years old," he said.
An editorial published Tuesday in the Venice daily Il Gazzettino asked what had happened to the Moses project, a controversial and unfinished multi-billion dollar barrier system that has been under construction for years. Venice, built on an Adriatic lagoon on the north-east coast of Italy, has always been exposed to floods and the barrier system is supposed to offer some protection, as global warming and rising seas aggravate the threat.
"If there had been a day, it would have been useful, it was yesterday," the editorial said.
Mr. Campostrini, from St. Mark's, accepted. "This event should not have happened, not if the Moses project had been operational," he said.
The situation was also dramatic in other Italian regions.
Winds reached 112 km / h in Liguria, on the northwest coast of Italy, one of the hardest hit regions. The Italian news agency ANSA described a "massacre of yachts" in the town of Rapallo, near Genoa, where dozens of boats moored in the port broke off and crashed against the shore or were chased off the coast.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in towns in the mountainous region of Trentino-Alto Adige, north-west of Venice, after the flood of rivers. Newspapers have described fish swimming in the streets of a city.
In some places, hills wet with heavy rain have given way.
The operational command of the Department of Civil Protection met late Monday to coordinate and deploy disaster relief teams throughout the country, where winds and rains continued on Tuesday.
Schools remained closed Tuesday in many areas. Centennial pines were destroyed in Rome, blocking roads and traffic.
In Venice, the city's high-tide telephone message system warned citizens that the tide on Tuesday and Wednesday would be unusually severe, but not as bad as Monday's. An "orange code" was in place, the floods should reach more than 43 inches above sea level.
In Naples, many trees fell in the Poggioreale Cemetery, famous for its tombs and monuments, which was closed to the public.
The mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, said Tuesday that the city had been exposed to "an earthquake".
