Venice faces more floods as state of emergency declared

VENICE, Italy — Flood-hit Venice was bracing for another exceptional high tide Friday, as Italy declared a state of emergency for the UNESCO city where perilous deluges have caused millions of euros worth of damage.

Churches, shops and homes in the city of canals have been inundated by unusually intense "acqua alta," or high waters, which on Tuesday hit their highest level in half a century.

The crisis, driven by bad weather, has prompted the government to release 20 million euros ($22 million) in funds to tackle the devastation.

The water was expected to reach 1.5 metrers (5 feet) mid-morning on Friday as strong storms and winds batter the region—lower than Tuesday's peak but still dangerous, local officials said.

Undeterred, tourists have been larking around in the flooded St Mark's Square in the sunshine during breaks from the rain, snapping selfies in neon plastic boots.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who has called the flooding "a blow to the heart of our country," said late Thursday that a state of emergency had been approved.

Earlier that day he met Venice's mayor and emergency services before jumping in a speed boat to visit businesses and locals affected by the tide.

Residents whose houses had been hit would immediately get up to 5,000 euros in government aid, while restaurant and shop owners could receive up to 20,000 euros and apply for more later, he said.

Several museums remained closed to the public on Thursday.

As authorities assessed the extent of the damage to Venice's cultural treasures, such as St Mark's Basilica where water invaded the crypt, locals were defiant.

Many stopped for their usual coffees at flooded bars, drinking espresso while standing in several inches of water.

Austrian tourist Cornelia Litschauer, 28, said she felt mixed emotions seeing Venice's famous square half-submerged.

"For the tourists it's amazing, it's something to see. But for the people who live here it's a real problem," Litschauer said, cradling her white Chihuahua Pablo.

"It's strange. Tourists are taking pictures but the city is suffering."

'Need to adapt' 

The Locanda Al Leon hotel said its bookings had suffered from the international media coverage of the flood, with some guests canceling their rooms after seeing images of Venice underwater.

Under the arches of the Ducal Palace, a couple from Hong Kong posed for photos in the chilly morning sun.

"This (trip) was planned a long time ago so we couldn't change it," groom Jay Wong, 34, said.

"Actually this is a good experience. It's an adventure."

Tuesday's high waters submerged around 80 percent of the city, officials said.

Only once since records began in 1923 has the water crept even higher, reaching 1.94 metrer in 1966.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi arrived for a private tour of the damage sustained to the basilica, while rival leader of the Italian right Matteo Salvini was due to drop by for the same on Friday.

French tourist Manon Gaudre, 22, said seeing Venice submerged was a "unique experience."

"The damage it's causing to monuments and the people is worrying," she said, wondering if climate change was to blame.

Many, including Venice's mayor, have blamed the disaster on global warming and warned that Italy—a country prone to natural disasters—must wake up to the risks posed by ever more volatile seasons.

"We need to be resilient and adapt. We need a policy that looks at the climate through completely different eyes," Environment Minister Sergio Costa said Thursday.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has estimated the damage to Venice at hundreds of millions of euros.

The Serenissima, as the floating city is called, is home to a mere 50,000 residents but receives 36 million global visitors each year.

A massive infrastructure project has been under way since 2003 to protect the city, but it has been plagued by cost overruns, corruption scandals and delays.

The plan involves 78 gates that can be raised to protect Venice's lagoon during high tides—but a recent attempt to test part of it caused worrying vibrations and engineers discovered it had rusted.

source: philstar.com

Climate change, corruption blamed for Venice flood devastation

VENICE, Italy — Much of Venice was under water on Wednesday night after the highest tide in 50 years ripped through the historic Italian city, beaching gondolas, trashing hotels and sending tourists fleeing through rapidly rising waters.

The government in Rome was expected to declare a state of emergency at a cabinet meeting on Thursday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the flooding as "a blow to the heart of our country."

Officials blamed climate change while shopkeepers on the Grand Canal raged against those who have failed to protect the UNESCO city from the high tide.


They said corruption had repeatedly delayed a barrier protection system that could have prevented the disaster.

"The city is on its knees," Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in an interview with national broadcaster RAI.

"There's widespread devastation," he said in the famed St Mark's Square, which bore the brunt of the flooding. "In all likelihood the damage from last night runs into hundreds of millions of euros."

The state of emergency for a natural disaster will allow the government to use "exceptional powers and means" to intervene more quickly, and Conte said his government was ready to allocate funds.

"The disaster that has struck Venice is a blow to the heart of our country," Conte said at the scene. "It hurts to see the city so damaged, its artistic heritage threatened."


St Mark's Square was calm on Wednesday evening, with just a smattering of tourists walking through the relatively dry square marked with occasional puddles.

Four Venetian friends who had gathered in the square, all wearing boots, said the relative quiet and lack of tourists was upside of an otherwise harrowing few days.

"We've never seen anything like it," said Alvise, 19.

Earlier, tourists lugging heavy suitcases waded in thigh-high boots or barefoot through the submerged alleys, as gondola and water taxi drivers baled sewage-tainted water out of their trashed vessels.

'We can't live like this' 

Dirty water was swirling around the marble tombs inside the 12th-century crypt of St Mark's Basilica, which suffered untold damage when an unprecedented high tide swept through the city.

It was closed to tourists as were many other Venice highlights including the Fenice Theatre and the Ducal Palace.

"We said last year that the basilica had aged 20 years in a high tide. It risks having aged much more than that in this one," said the building's procurator Carlo Alberto Tesserin.

A 78-year old was killed by an electric shock as the waters poured into his home.

"We ask the government to help us, the costs will be high," mayor Brugnaro tweeted. "These are the effects of climate change."

"The future of Venice is at stake," he warned. "We cannot live like this anymore."

Environment Minister Sergio Costa blamed climate change and the "tropicalization" of violent rainfall and strong winds.

"This is what is happening more and more often in the Mediterranean," Costa said on Facebook.

"Global warming will destroy our planet if we do not immediately reverse the direction."

'Acqua alta' 

The exceptionally intense "acqua alta," or high waters, peaked at 1.87 meters (six feet). Only once since records began in 1923 has the water crept even higher, reaching 1.94 meters in 1966.

"It was unbelievable. The water rose so quickly," said resident Tiziano Collarin, 59, as he surveyed the damage.

"Windows were blown out, there are those who have lost everything," he said as the flood alarm rang out to warn those in the canal city that the tide, which had receded somewhat overnight, was rising once again.

The fire brigade said it had carried out over 400 operations as well as laying on extra boats as water ambulances.

Around 160 firefighters were deployed to rescue people stranded on jetties and to recover boats broken free from their moorings.

President of the Veneto region Luca Zaia said 80 percent of the city had been submerged, causing "unimaginable damage" to the city, which has 50,000 residents but receives 36 million visitors each year.

A massive infrastructure project called MOSE has been under way since 2003 to protect the city, but it has been plagued by cost overruns, corruption scandals and delays.

The plan involves 78 gates that can be raised to protect Venice's lagoon during high tides—but a recent attempt to test part of the barrier caused worrying vibrations and engineers discovered parts had rusted.

Outside historic Venice, the Lido and Pellestrina islands were also hard hit by flooding

source: philstar.com

Floods, landslides kill more than 100 in Mexico

More than 100 people have been killed and scores are missing in landslides and flooding caused by heavy rain in Mexico, a senior government official said late Friday.

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong delivered the grim news from the resort town of Acapulco, in one of the worst affected regions, with President Enrique Pena Nieto by his side.

The death toll stood at 101, with 68 people missing following a massive mudslide that swallowed half of the village of La Pintada, in Guerrero state, Osorio Chong said.

Mexico was hammered by the one-two punch of tropical storms Ingrid and Manuel, which left a trail of destruction that damaged tens of thousands of homes, flooded cities and washed out roads.

After regenerating into a hurricane and hitting the northwestern state of Sinaloa late Thursday, affecting 100,000 people and killing three, Manuel finally dissipated over the mountains.

The state of Guerrero was the hardest hit, with at least 65 deaths and its Pacific resort of Acapulco left isolated after the two roads to Mexico City were covered in landslides on Sunday.

Osorio Chong also said that authorities are searching for a police helicopter that had been evacuating people from La Pintada when it disappeared Thursday. Only crewmembers were apparently missing.

Rescuers have abandoned the search by air because of heavy fog, but have continued to search by land, Osorio Chong said.

"We are really worried," the minister earlier told Radio Formula. "They risked their lives all the time, because it was important to evacuate people."

'Thank God we're leaving'

Thousands of tourists trapped in flood-stricken Acapulco for almost a week packed into cars and buses on Friday after authorities reopened the road link to Mexico City following the storms.

Traffic piled up as police allowed cars to leave in groups of 50 to avoid huge backups on the "Sun Highway."

The highway department warned travelers that the trip north, which usually takes around four hours, would last nine to 10 hours, with only a single lane open in some stretches and a diversion to another road.

"Thank God we're leaving, even if there is traffic," said Imelda Cuellar Ramirez, a Mexican holidaymaker who was driving out with eight relatives.

More than 40,000 tourists, mostly Mexicans seeking sun during a three-day holiday weekend, were left stranded when the storms struck five days ago.

Half the city was flooded, while rising waters brought out crocodiles. Looters ransacked stores.

Around 24,000 tourists left in airlifts organized by the military and commercial carriers, but tempers flared as they stood in long lines to get one of the precious seats.

Thousands of frustrated tourists sheltered at the convention center blocked an avenue for half an hour late Thursday in protest against the slow pace of the airlift.

Waiting to board a bus, Alejandro Tubias, a Mexico City resident, said it was high time to leave after his wife contracted a stomach bug that they blamed on the lack of drinking water.

"We are more than happy. We are in a hurry to go because my wife is sick and because we don't have any money to pay the hotel room," he said.

More than 4,000 tourists left on 105 buses on Friday, officials said.

Many dead

While tourists drove out of Acapulco, hundreds of troops and civil protection workers dug with shovels and pickaxes in La Pintada, the coffee-growing village west of Acapulco swamped by a massive mudslide.

Officially, 68 people are missing in the village and two people were killed -- their bodies were pulled out of the debris -- but villagers fear that scores have perished.

"I think there's a lot of dead. A lot of my relatives died, they're buried and we can't do anything," said farmer Diego Zeron.

The mud collapsed on the village of 400 people during independence day celebrations last Monday, swallowing homes, a school and church before crashing into the river.

The soldiers and civil protection workers, many wearing surgical masks, removed pieces of broken homes and chopped up fallen trees with machetes.

Helicopters evacuated more than 330 villagers to Acapulco, but a few families decided to stay back, waiting for news on the missing.

source: interaksyon.com

Half of Metro Manila is under water - MMDA

MANILA – Fifty to sixty percent of Metro Manila is under water as the southwest monsoon enhanced by tropical storm Maring continued to affect the metropolis and nearby provinces, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino said Tuesday said.

Areas submerged in deep floodwaters are Paranaque City, Pasig City, Quezon City, Manila, and Marikina City, he said. 






“But that doesn’t really mean that the whole of Metro Manila is covered with water, the situation varies (from area to area) …that (estimate) is just a general statement,” he clarified.

‘No number coding’

Tolentino also said that as of 9 a.m. Tuesday, the number coding has been suspended but advised motorists to avoid areas with perennial flooding.

“Light vehicles should not pass by these areas because you might get stalled…but we are hoping that the floodwater will subside by 4 p.m.,” he added.

He said the gates in Manggahan Floodway in Pasig City were already opened to divert the water to Laguna de Bay, which he claimed somehow helped ease the flood situation.

Tolentino said all the 51 flood-pumping stations located throughout the metro are all operational and have sufficient fuel.

source: interaksyon.com

Australia provides P88 million for flood relief efforts in Luzon

The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Bob Carr, has announced Australia will assist Filipinos who have been affected by severe flooding in Metro Manila and surrounding areas by making available up to PhP 88 million (A$2 million) in food and emergency supplies, to be delivered through the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

As part of its disaster preparedness program in the Philippines, Australia works with partners to pre-position emergency supplies, which enables a rapid response to natural disasters and emergencies.

The Australian Government has provided PhP 44 million (A$1 million) for emergency kits for distribution to families which include medical supplies, mosquito nets and water containers, and another PhP 44 million (A$1 million) for 1000 tons of rice.

Senator Carr expressed his particular concern for those families who had been without a home for up to two weeks. “We’re providing $1 million to WFP and we’re backing that up with nearly $1 million made available to the Red Cross for those in need,” he said.

“The Australian Government has made these items available through the PRC and WFP so that they can be immediately accessed in serious humanitarian situations, such as the current flooding in and around the capital,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Bill Tweddell said.

“We know that prompt response is essential to saving lives during disasters. Australia, through our arrangements with the Philippine Red Cross and WFP, is able to assist the Philippine Government to respond quickly and effectively.”

Officials of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) visited flood-affected areas this week. They have been working closely with the Philippine Government and other donors to ensure the Philippines has the support it needs to manage the crisis.

“We commend the Philippine Government for its quick response, including widespread search and rescue operations for those stranded by floods and buried by landslides,” Ambassador Tweddell said.

Over the past seven years, Australia has provided more than Php760 million in humanitarian and emergency aid to the Philippines. Australia works closely with the Government and other partners to manage disasters and to help people adapt to climate change.

Australia’s program has a focus on Metro Manila and supports hazard and risk analysis, risk-sensitive land use planning, community-based disaster preparedness, capacity building on urban search and rescue, and providing safer settlements for those living in danger areas.

Australia and the Philippines have a strong relationship, underpinned by over 50 years of partnership in development cooperation. The aid partnership with the Philippines is one of Australia’s largest, with more than Php20 billion in official development assistance in the past five years. Australia’s current annual aid to the Philippines is estimated at Php5.5 billion – placing Australia among the top grant donors to the Philippines.

For more information about AusAID’s work on humanitarian and disaster response in the Philippines, visit the Australian embassy website.

source: gmanetwork.com

US to provide P4.3-M relief aid to flooded areas in PH

The United States on Tuesday said it is providing US$ 100,000, or about P4.3 million, to the Philippines to support disaster relief efforts in Metro Manila following severe flooding caused by the southwest monsoon this week.

U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. issued a disaster declaration after reports of widespread flooding in the National Capital Region, and offered to provide immediate relief assistance.

“On behalf of the U.S. government and the American people, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to those who are displaced and who have lost homes and livelihoods due to the floods,” Thomas said in a statement.

Most parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces in Luzon have been submerged in flood waters, forcing the cancellation of classes and work.

According to Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), there was is no tropical cyclone prevailing in the country but said the heavy downpour was due to the southwest monsoon being pushed by typhoon "Haikui" in Japan.

PAGASA has issued a red warning signal for Metro Manila on Tuesday, warning residents in low-lying areas to evacuate.

A red warning means more than 30 millimeters of rains are expected and serious flooding may occur.

Classes and work were suspended in Metro Manila as well as in the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Pangasinan, and Tarlac. Several schools have also suspended classes and work for Wednesday.

Thomas said the US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), would conduct an initial damage assessment in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. “As a good friend and longstanding development partner, the United States will work with the Philippine government to determine where our assistance is most needed. We remain committed to helping the Philippine people overcome this difficult time.” Thomas said.

The US has been a key partner of the Philippines in providing immediate humanitarian response during natural calamities.

source: interaksyon.com

De Los Santos Medical Center on E. Rodriguez without food, power, needs help

MANILA, Philippines - The De Los Santos Medical Center along E. Rodriguez Sr. Boulevard in Quezon City has run out of food for its patients and staff and its power supply has also been cut off, a radio station reported past 12:30 a.m., Wednesday.

Also, one of its two generators had run out of power Tuesday evening after it was submerged in flood waters. Its second generator will also lose power in one to two hours.

The hospital has 140 staffers and 72 patients including three babies in incubators, one of whom is suffering from hypothermia. Another patient, who is at the hospital's intensive care unit, needs to be immediately transferred to another medical facility.

E. Rodriguez Sr. remains flooded as of late Tuesday evening. The road 500 meters from the hospital is inaccesible.

Those who want to provide the medical center with relief goods and lend generator to the hospital can contact nurse ChrisTaño via cellphone number 0917-546-2887.

source: interaksyon.com

DFA reschedules passport processing due to bad weather

The Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Consular Affairs announced on Tuesday a new schedule for passport applicants who were unable to file their applications due to bad weather.

“In view of the continuing inclement weather brought about by heavy rains, passport applicants scheduled today, August 7, may come to the DFA-OCA and have their passports processed this entire week until Friday, August 10,” it said.

Passport applicants are advised to bring their appointment slips with them, the DFA said.

Earlier in the day, massive flooding due to heavy rain forced the US Embassy to suspend its operations.

The embassy, located along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, was submerged in thigh-deep floodwaters, reports said.

“U.S. Embassy will be closed August 7, 2012 due to flooding in many areas of Manila,” a statement on its website said.

On his Twitter account, US Ambasador to the Philippines Harry Thomas said: "The embassy is closed today due to excessive flooding in the streets and concern for the safety of our employees and consular applicants."

Last week, the embassy was also closed down after huge waves, compounded by high tide, swept past the seawall and a cement embankment along the scenic Roxas Boulevard at the height of the monsoon surge. — Michaela del Callar/RSJ, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com