Predictably, Venice is swamped by high seas... [View All]

ROME (AFP) - A steep rise in sea levels swamped part of the historic lagooon city of Venice amid storms and heavy rains that have beaten down on Italy over the past 24 hours.

ADVERTISEMENT




On the other side of the peninsula, at La Spezia, a storm slammed a bulk carrier against a jetty, holing it and dumping thousands of litres of fuel into the harbor, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

Venice was hit by a common seasonal phenomenon as winds and tides backed up the Adriatic waters, causing levels in the lagoon to rise.

According to the city's flood center, the water rose 1.32 meters (four foot four inches) above normal sea level.

In Saint Mark's Square, which was covered by about 20 centimeters of water, the rare tourists covered their shoes with plastic bags.

Forecasters said the water level was expected to decline Sunday, but warned the weather would turn for the worse again on Tuesday.

The government is building a system of barriers at the entrance to the lagoon to prevent a repetition of the catastrophic 1966 flood that saw the Renaissance canal city submered under two meters of water.

But the barrage, consisting of 78 hinged barriers resting on the sea flood, is not expected to be finished before 2011...