Venice Plans For Sea Level Rise

Operation "Rialto" will lift some Venice buildings up to 3.3 feet in an effort to avoid the negative implications of sea level rise.

1 minute read

March 26, 2008, 5:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"This project is an alternative to a previous one nicknamed "Moses", which began in 2003 and is due to end in 2012. "Moses" is expected to cost around four billion euros (six billion dollars) under huge plans to build 78 mobile barriers at a stretch of two kilometres (1.2 miles) by the lagoon's entrance."

"Local officials and engineers are planning to lift buildings under operation "Rialto" by up to one metre (3.3 feet) using piston-supported-poles to be placed at the bottom of each structure. This will take around a month per building if each structure is raised by eight centimetres (3.14 inches) a day."

"Venice has become increasingly vulnerable over time, suffering more than 50 significant floods between 1993 and 2002 and sinking about 23 centimeters over the course of the 20th century."

Thanks to Jon Cecil, AICP

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