Venice's MOSE flood barriers will be
raised for the first time at night for an 'acqua alta' of 135 cm
expected to hit the lagoon city at 02:40 Saturday, the municipal
flood office said Friday.
MOSE has been shown to be effective in preventing the flooding
that 'acqua alta' high tides cause.
It saved Venice from a 120 cm flood earlier this week.
St Mark's Basilica and surrounding buildings were damaged in one
of the last big pre-MOSE floods, a year ago.
St Mark's Square was first saved by MOSE on October 3.
MOSE, which is the Italian for 'Moses' who split the Red Sea for
the fleeing Israelites in the Bible, stands for 'MOdulo
Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, (Experimental Electromechanical
Module) .
The project is an integrated system consisting of rows of mobile
gates installed at the Lido, Malamocco, and Chioggia inlets that
are able to isolate the Venetian Lagoon temporarily from the
Adriatic Sea during acqua alta high tides.
Together with other measures, such as coastal reinforcement, the
raising of quaysides, and the paving and improvement of the
lagoon, MOSE is designed to protect Venice and the lagoon from
tides of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft).
The Consorzio Venezia Nuova is responsible for the work on
behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport - Venice
Water Authority.
Construction began simultaneously in 2003.
On 10 July 2020, the first full test was successfully completed,
and after multiple delays, cost overruns, and scandals resulted
in the project missing its 2018 completion deadline (originally
a 2011 deadline)
it is now expected to be fully completed by the end of 2021.
On 3 October 2020, the MOSE was activated for the first time in
the occurrence of a high tide event, preventing some of the
low-lying parts of the city (in particular piazza San Marco)
from being flooded.
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