Flooding in Venice Worsening During Climate Change
2021-10-22
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1Venice, Italy, is known for its beautiful buildings and waterways, or canals.
2But the way that the 1,600-year-old city was built makes it especially at risk of damage from sea-level rise.
3Rising sea levels are increasing the number of floods during high tides.
4And for many years, Venice has been slowly sinking.
5Climate scientists and world leaders plan to meet later this month in Scotland for a major United Nations climate conference.
6They will be thinking of the future of coastal cities like Venice.
7Last month, the European Geosciences Union released a new study on Venice.
8It found that the Italian city could see a sea-level rise of 120 centimeters by the end of the century.
9That is 50 percent higher than the worst-case average that U.N. scientists have predicted for worldwide rising sea levels by 2100.
10One of the most famous places in Venice is St. Mark's Basilica.
11The religious building sits at Venice's lowest area.
12It offers scientists a chance to observe the effects of rising seas on the city.
13The square floods during an 80-centimeter rise.
14 Water gets into the building itself at 88 centimeters.
15Carlo Alberto Tesserin is the building's chief caretaker.
16He told The Associated Press that flooding no longer happens from time to time.
17He said, "It is an everyday occurrence."
18Floods above 1.1 meters are called "acqua alta," or "high water."
19Venice has experienced 163 such floods in the past 20 years.
20That is almost as many as the city faced during the 100 years before that.
21Exceptional floods over 140 centimeters are also increasing.
22That mark has been hit 25 times since Venice started keeping records in 1872.
23Two-thirds happened in the last 20 years.
24One-fifth happened during a disastrous flooding period in late 2019.
25The Venice Water Authority built a special system of moveable underwater barriers to help protect the city.
26The system is known as MOSE.
27The project cost nearly $7 billion.
28It has faced many years of cost overruns, delays and corruption and is still officially in the testing phase.
29Since October 2020, MOSE's barriers have been raised 20 times.
30The system currently protects the cities from some but not all floods.
31Elisabetta Spitz is one of the head officials of the project.
32She said the project's completion has been delayed until 2023.
33She said $580 million in spending for "improvements" will make sure of its long-term effectiveness.
34Paolo Vielmo is an engineer.
35He notes that when MOSE was first proposed, sea-level rise was projected at 22 centimeters.
36That is far below U.N. scientists current worst-case prediction of 80 centimeters.
37Current plans say that MOSE barriers will not raise for floods of 1.1 meters until the project receives final approval.
38That leaves St. Mark's Basilica in danger.
39Annapaola Lavena has a business along the square in front of St. Mark's.
40She and other business owners there increasingly see themselves at the center of the climate crisis.
41"The acqua alta is getting worse, and it completely blocks business. Venice lives thanks to its artisans and tourism. If there is no more tourism, Venice dies," she said.
42"We have a great responsibility in trying to save it," Lavena added, "... but we are suffering a lot."
43I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Venice, Italy, is known for its beautiful buildings and waterways, or canals. But the way that the 1,600-year-old city was built makes it especially at risk of damage from sea-level rise. 2Rising sea levels are increasing the number of floods during high tides. And for many years, Venice has been slowly sinking. 3Climate scientists and world leaders plan to meet later this month in Scotland for a major United Nations climate conference. They will be thinking of the future of coastal cities like Venice. 4Last month, the European Geosciences Union released a new study on Venice. It found that the Italian city could see a sea-level rise of 120 centimeters by the end of the century. That is 50 percent higher than the worst-case average that U.N. scientists have predicted for worldwide rising sea levels by 2100. 5One of the most famous places in Venice is St. Mark's Basilica. The religious building sits at Venice's lowest area. It offers scientists a chance to observe the effects of rising seas on the city. The square floods during an 80-centimeter rise. Water gets into the building itself at 88 centimeters. 6Carlo Alberto Tesserin is the building's chief caretaker. He told The Associated Press that flooding no longer happens from time to time. He said, "It is an everyday occurrence." 7Floods above 1.1 meters are called "acqua alta," or "high water." Venice has experienced 163 such floods in the past 20 years. That is almost as many as the city faced during the 100 years before that. 8Exceptional floods over 140 centimeters are also increasing. That mark has been hit 25 times since Venice started keeping records in 1872. Two-thirds happened in the last 20 years. One-fifth happened during a disastrous flooding period in late 2019. 9The Venice Water Authority built a special system of moveable underwater barriers to help protect the city. The system is known as MOSE. The project cost nearly $7 billion. It has faced many years of cost overruns, delays and corruption and is still officially in the testing phase. 10Since October 2020, MOSE's barriers have been raised 20 times. The system currently protects the cities from some but not all floods. 11Elisabetta Spitz is one of the head officials of the project. She said the project's completion has been delayed until 2023. She said $580 million in spending for "improvements" will make sure of its long-term effectiveness. 12Paolo Vielmo is an engineer. He notes that when MOSE was first proposed, sea-level rise was projected at 22 centimeters. That is far below U.N. scientists current worst-case prediction of 80 centimeters. 13Current plans say that MOSE barriers will not raise for floods of 1.1 meters until the project receives final approval. That leaves St. Mark's Basilica in danger. 14Annapaola Lavena has a business along the square in front of St. Mark's. She and other business owners there increasingly see themselves at the center of the climate crisis. 15"The acqua alta is getting worse, and it completely blocks business. Venice lives thanks to its artisans and tourism. If there is no more tourism, Venice dies," she said. 16"We have a great responsibility in trying to save it," Lavena added, "... but we are suffering a lot." 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18Colleen Barry reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 19______________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21tide - n. the regular upward and downward movement of the level of the ocean that is caused by the pull of the Sun and the Moon on the Earth 22occurrence - n. something that happens 23scandal - n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong 24phase - n. a part or step in a process: one part in a series of related events or actions 25contention - n. a situation in which you have a chance to win something that you are trying to win 26tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 27responsibility - n. a duty or task that you are required or expected to do