Venice floods

From what I have read, high water is always an issue this time of year although not to the extent today and what is still expected in the morning. Probably wouldn't hurt to have a contingency plan in case there is more water than you care to maneuver through. So glad we went back in October just before flooding season was expcected to start.

We were there on Friday, when the flooding had just began. It wasn't so bad that it ruined our day. Last Christmas it wasn't wet at all, just cold.

There are elevated walkways put in place in some of the worse parts, to help you escape the puddles.

You can't really predict that far in advance if it will be flooded or not. If I were you, I'd pack some rain boots and plan to have fun! :)

Don't worry about it. The floods (when they happen) last for only a few hours usually and there are lots of higher sections of Venice to explore if that happens. St. Mark's is the most popular place in Venice but also happens to be the lowest, so there are lots of photos of it when it floods, but no photos or coverage of the rest of Venice which isn't flooded. But be prepared for cold weather then.

Michael -- go to the European Headline section of the home page and view the article from the International Herald Tribune -- which also has 5 unbelievable pictures of the high water in Venice today. It's not trivial, and is reaching into areas beyone St. Mark's Square. It is way higher than the flooding I saw there a few years ago in late October.

The Vento region is SOAKED right now. I live 45 minutes north of Venice and our rivers on both sides are nearly flooded. A lot of fields are flooded. It may be a different story in late december, but the Italians have been telling me that it is expected to be a wet and snowy winter. I would have a back up plan. When you get to Itlay just keep an eye on the news and ask the locals about the weather news. They like weather as much as we do in the USA.

Rick Steves says in his Italy book, I think 2006, he said that it's more likely to flood in Venice in November and March.

Apparently the fourth-highest tide to flood the city in about 135 years. Maybe they'll start thinking seriously about flood gates now.

Norm, they've already begun the gates; from the Dec 1, Herald Tribune:

"The $5.5 billion project, called "Moses" after the Biblical figure who parted the Red Sea, has been under construction for years and is expected to be completed by 2011. The company building the barriers said, had the system been in place, the city would not have been flooded Monday."

On our trip to Venice in Oct of 2002 we saw saw high water throughout the sestiere San Marco...not as high as todays flooding, but high enough to get our attention.

Someone else posted a comment about the flooding. I heard on the news tonight that there is over 5 Feet of water in Venice now. Tourists and locals are getting around only by boat. The news showed St Marks Square covered in 5 feet. This is WAY more than normal for Venice this time of year.

I think you need a back up plan, but wait a week to see if the flooding recedes a bit.

Petes posted a link to photos, AMAZING, hard to believe I was sweltering hot and walking around in sandals and sundresses only a few months ago.. it looks cold and very WET!

And to make it even worse, the transit strike is still affecting the vaporettos.

Let's all just take a deep breath. :-)

This was the highest flooding in 22 years - clearly an anomaly. The waters have already started to recede. My point still stands that as a general rule the flooding in Venice is nothing to worry about.

And per the NYT, the transit workers have called off their strike, so the vaporetti are functioning where they can.

I just checked on "Corriere della Sera", an Italian news site, and the water is down to just a few inches in St. Mark's square, the lowest point in the city.

Back to normal in Venice.