That sinking feeling

The disastrous flooding that overwhelmed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina highlighted the vulnerability of low-lying coastal cities around the world. A predicted global sea-level rise of up to 88 centimetres over the next century, due to climate change, would put many major cities at risk.

Around the world, massive public projects such as the Maeslant barrier in the Netherlands and the Thames barrier in the UK have been constructed to protect economically and culturally sensitive areas from sea-level rises or storm surges. Venice, on the other hand, has only recently begun constructing a long-term solution – a large-scale barrier between the Venetian lagoon and the Adriatic Sea.

Around the world, massive public projects such as the Maeslant barrier in the Netherlands and the Thames barrier in the UK have been constructed to protect economically and culturally sensitive areas from sea-level rises or storm surges. Venice, on the other hand, has only recently begun constructing a long-term solution – a large-scale barrier between the Venetian lagoon and the Adriatic Sea.

Venetians are well used to high tides, or “acqua alta”, invading their city. Piles of sandbags guard entrances to buildings and elevated wooden walkways help navigate around the worst of the flooding. But the problem is worsening. St Mark’s Square was flooded seven times in 1900 but 99 times in 1996. “The flooding has heavily increased, especially in the past 40 years,” says Professor Ignazio Musu, an economist based in the city.

The Guardian