Hundreds evacuated in Tuscany as Venice floods

[dipsydoodle]

Source: France 24

Some 200 people were evacuated in parts of Tuscany as heavy rains over the weekend left 70 percent of the city of Venice underwater, authorities said on Sunday. Sea levels peaked at 1.5 metres above normal levels before receding slightly.



Floodwaters drenched most of the tourist destination of Venice and led to the evacuation of 200 people in Tuscany, as bad weather hit northern Italy at the weekend, authorities said Sunday.

In Venice itself, heavy rains and winds from the south triggered "acqua alta" (high water) and 70 percent of the city was flooded, with sea levels reaching a peak of 1.5 metres (five feet) above normal before receding slightly, they said.

In Tuscany, around 200 people were evacuated because of heavy rains which flooded homes and caused mudslides, local officials said.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20121111-hundreds-evacuated-tuscany-venice-floods-rain-weather-italy

[darkangel218]

1. Ive visited Italy and i really dont like it.

Everything is so crowded, not a lot of trees or parks in the cities, just a lot of old buildings which are falling apart.

[jonthebru]

2. Well, that settles it then.

[xchrom]

4. I love it. Nt

[elleng]

5. Darn those old buildings!

[Flaxbee]

17. Absolutely takes my breath away.

That is a lovely photo of the Duomo in Florence....

[DeschutesRiver]

21. Beautiful! I've been there, and have the photos I took on the wall still...

Watching lights come on as dusk falls there is just breathtaking.

It has been quite probably decades ago now, but this photo reminds me of what a magical place I found Italy to be. And the food, oh my, the food, - I still remember a saucy pasta dish I had in Sorrento, with a very fragrant cheese, herbs and strawberries, which I still make a version of to this day, and the taste of the morning espresso with the crunchy bread, seriously great butter, and cheese with the cold cuts in the little stone cellar of one of the places at which we stayed. And to cruise through those darned really really old buildings at the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum....I'd love to have been in a position where I could have spent an entire summer there.

I hope to see it once more before I pass on! All of it, any of it!

[elleng]

30. DITTO DITTO DITTO!!!

[Texin]

32. Yea. It's just so .. OLD!

Good grief. Italy is Europe's most beautiful country IMHO. The Amalfi coast is glorious and Rome is magnificent. And we found a great many neighborhood parks in the city. Can't imagine where or when the poster above was referring to, but I never wanted to come back to the US after visiting Italy. It's true if you go during the peak tourist season in the late spring and into August that it's overrun in all the meccas for sightseeing, but if you go in late April or very early May, and after September into early November, it's not crowded and the weather is still fabulous, especially in th southern regions of the country. Look forward to going back ASAP.

[McCamy Taylor]

9. Huh? Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

[dipsydoodle]

10. Not just falling apart

the islands have been sinking for centuries and continue to do so. I was there 1946, 1968 and 2001 : rained the last two times - have to ask my mother about the first time when fortunately we got stuck there for 8 weeks.

[beac]

25. The dredging that was done to accommodate cruise ships

has hastened Venice's demise.

Of course, much of Venice isn't a true island at all but man-made ground created by driving thousands upon thousands of wooden piles into the lagoon side-by-side.

[dipsydoodle]

27. Yes

it don't even sit on rock : its on clay.

[PatrynXX]

13. sounds like heaven to me

Love old buildings. and some in the USA are falling apart. the Schoolhouse Museum in Marqette IA has this massive crack thru 2 floors. supposedly still structurally sound though ;p

[Kelvin Mace]

14. Nice country, friendly people

Crazy (even by our standards) politics.

I saw plenty of trees and parks on my visits. You have to know where to go.

[kestrel91316]

15. So you're ok with all this climate change-related destruction?

Wow. You're an awesome person.

[darkangel218]

26. Who said i was ok with the climate change?

I simply don't like how crowded it was, and how unkept most of the buildings were. I didn't say anything about climate change.

[tawadi]

19. ...

[darkangel218]

24. lol to each their own? :)

[roguevalley]

20. i hope you are joking. :| Venice will be among the first

cities lost.

[tuvor]

23. LOL Sounds like some of the US cities I've visited!

And your Italian experience is vastly different from my own.

[darkangel218]

28. Guess so. I grew up in Europe and ive been to almost every country there

I love trees and nature, and italien cities don't have much of it. I guess you could admire the old architectures, but that alone is not my kind of soup.

[Pachamama]

29. WTF? Seriously? Not sure where you were but you clearly havent been to cities like Torino...

Beautiful with gorgeous parks and wonderful art, buildings, culture, people, food...

I recall a few years back this time of year walking through the park near the River Po and just being of awe of the beauty and how wonderful it is....

[darkangel218]

31. Ive been to Rome and Florence and ill never go back again

There is plenty of culture but the air is very poluted, especially in the summer when I went. I felt more comfortable in the crazy London than Rome. Not for me

[CTyankee]

35. Florence is ALWAYS crowded and always has been. There is a reason for that.

Rome is crowded but so is Barcelona and Vancouver and NYC.

I am curious as to why you went to Italy in the first place, if not to see the historic sites, savor the food and appreciate the art and architecture ("old buildings&quot ?

[darkangel218]

36. Like i previously said ive traveled alot. and there are other places in Europe

Such as Wales and Ireland which are absolutely fantastic.

To each their own, I was only sharing my experience!

[panzerfaust]

33. Yeah. Pretty crappy compared to Omaha, Decatur, Chula Vista, Atlanta ...

Hell, only about 80% of 'them' speak English. Not like 'Merica at all.

[darkangel218]

37. Yah no trees.

The only trees you see in urban areas are in parks.

And the pic you posted is not the average American neighborhood.

[RitchieRich]

48. The Gauntlet!!

man, everyone really is having a great time fixating on you.
Good thing there is absolutely nothing else to talk about. Apparently.

Reminds me of a hot dog eating contest.

[CTyankee]

34. Are you kidding me? Didn't you go to a museum or an old church or two to see some of the

greatest art of Western Civilization? Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance? Venice and Rome, the Eternal City? REALLY?

[BlueMTexpat]

42. Diff'rent strokes, as they say.

But I would surmise that you are not in the majority.

I know that I love the country, the people, the food and the music. The monuments and history are pretty impressive too.

Out of curiosity, what places DO you like? And why?

[Javaman]

46. You sure it was Italy?

what time of the year did you go?

I went the during the last week of the "off season" and it was possibly the most incredible experience of my life.

And as far as "not a lot of trees or parks in the cities" I don't which Italy you went to but I saw some breath taking groves of trees and parks abound in Italy.

[rrneck]

47. The only time I ever had back pain was in Italy.

Every square inch of every town and city is stone.

But I'd go back to Venice in a second.

[elleng]

3. 'The bad weather was heading slowly towards the centre of the country

and was set to hit Rome where civil defence forces have been put on alert.'

[NMDemDist2]

6. gee no global warming eh?

[Liberalagogo]

7. No

It's global WETTING.

[hollysmom]

8. I was there 20 years ago and it was flooded.

They were prepared though,the night before they put out a load of saw horses and they put planks for us to walk on so our feet would only get a little wet, but most of the tourist buildings were closed because of the flooding,as well as the restaurants. We did eventually find a dry pizzeria.

[jberryhill]

11. Venice still hasn't pumped out the streets from the last one

[geek tragedy]

12. Venice isn't in Tuscany--poor headline in original piece. nt

[lindysalsagal]

18. Noticed that...

But there's nothing new about venice floods. You can see the marcs on the outsides of the buildings, especially in the fish market.

Gorgeous. But one more reason for people to give up on living there, sadly.

[dipsydoodle]

44. I agree.

Very poor writing.

[adieu]

16. Tuscany and Venice are on opposite coasts of Italy

Must be a big storm!

[BlueMTexpat]

41. Exactly - I've to Venice and Tuscany both.

There's quite a lot of distance between them!

[dipsydoodle]

43. Northern Italy tends to share weather

particularly during November which is their highest rainfall month.

[Beacool]

22. NJ and NY say: Welcome to our world.

Things will take a long time to be back to normal, if ever. I wish the affected people in Italy all the best.

[JustAnotherGen]

38. Sister in law and her famil in Genoa

They have some flooding there too. My husband and me were in Calabria wit his parents last year when Genoa got hit too. Who says climate change is a myth and why are they still speaking?

[dipsydoodle]

39. And don't forget the Florence floods of 1966 too.

.

[Evasporque]

40. OMG the streets are flooded in Venice....nt

[tclambert]

45. At first I thought that headline was a joke. Venice flooded. Ri-i-ight.

The streets are underwater! People need boats to get around.

Oh . . . the water really IS higher than normal, by five feet. Okay, that puts it in the family room.