60 minutes rewind
australia is burning an area about as large as west virginia has been blackened by the fires and
according to a university of sydney scientist it's estimated a billion animals have died the blazes
are bigger than the ones that torched california and the amazon events that took place on different
continents but are part of the same story global climate change it's a story not just a fire but
water before climate scientists worried about australia burning they warned that venice italy
is drowning man's most beautiful artifact built on millions of pylons in the middle of a lagoon
may be vanishing before our eyes the periodic floods of venice have become more threatening and
more frequent this past november a sudden storm surge overwhelmed nearly 90 percent of the city
climate scientists say what happened that night exactly two months ago in
venice is a warning to the world of what's to come and not just in venice
ever since the 5th century venice has depended on the water for survival
this improbable italian city knit together between islands used water as a barrier against invaders
to become a jewel of the world then came the night of november 12th
streets ran like rivers squares became swimming pools it was venice's second highest tide ever
recorded more than six feet above sea level wind from a storm barreling up the adriatic sea
accelerated from 6 miles an hour to 70 in less than 15 minutes when the surge was over
the destruction totaled a billion dollars it's enough and now i say to myself the other night
with the water until my almost underpants downstairs i mean this is ridiculous
we can't be like this the power of the water was so strong toto bergamo rossi is known as
venice's unofficial mayor a descendant of an ancient venetian family he is a director
of the menace heritage foundation i feel like i'm the doctor of this kind of old passion that i have
to do it i have to check i have to help if venice is a patient is it time to call the ambulance
uh now i think it's like how you call that kind of department that they put you in the
mask and you are the intensive care unit yeah exactly now we are in intensive care completely
but it wasn't just one flood four days in november venetians woke to the sound of tones warning of
more record-breaking tides venice has always been vulnerable the city is also slowly sinking but the
water is rising higher and more frequently three of the eight highest tides in venice's recorded
history occurred just in november this is becoming the new normal and waterlogged venetians wonder
how much more this ancient city can take the frequency the frequency it's like an earthquake
when there are too many then it means something is happening i see it as an opportunity to wake
up the world luigi a conservative and former businessman is venice's elected mayor are you
convinced that the recent water rise the frequency of the water rise is the result of man-made
climate change i see sea performance yes of course yes these are the effects of climate change
these extreme events are damaging many of venice's masterpieces like the 900 year old
basilica of saint mark known as the church of gold its marble floors were swamped on november 12th
and downstairs water buried the crypt for only the second time ever the water receded but left behind
salt which italians call the cancer because it eats away at mosaics and foundations pier palo
campostrini who helps manage the basilica pled for his church in his city i emotional i'm also
a bit angry about this who are you angry at it's a fault of my generation oh so i don't want to leave
to my children this responsibility my generation should act this past november venice nearly lost
another of its gems this is the most beautiful theater all around the world at la fenice where
verdi debuted his operas la traviata and rigoletto november's flood hit days before the season opener
once the danger was over fortunato or tombina and these la fenice's artistic director
relived the drama of the panic backstage can you imagine this tube with the water
coming out like a phone calm it was completely under the water and it's never supposed to
have any water no no no no no no if the water arrives on the cable on the line where you have
electricity it explodes it explodes miraculously it didn't and with vacuums running around the
clock the water went down so the curtain could go up the opening scene from verdi's don carlo
a prayer for the dead venice is facing an existential threat essentially to the city
as it has been you say venice is dying those are the stakes for you those are the states and that's
exactly michael oppenheimer is a professor of geosciences at princeton university he was a lead
author of a landmark report for the united nations on climate change that found coastal cities are
increasingly at risk from sea level rise when people look at venice and what is happening
in venice more floods faster and higher what message should they take for the rest of the world
the rest of the world should take the message that this is what the situation is going to look like
in many places that they live in venice is just you know as everybody says the canary in the coal
mine it's happening there now climate change oppenheimer says is the major reason we'll see
more floods for the ages across the globe like the one that hit venice two months ago
sea level is rising almost everywhere on earth not only is sea level rising the
rise is accelerating it's happening faster and faster how much faster is that pace quickened so
by the year 2050 which is only 30 years into the future many places around the world including in
the u.s are going to experience the historical once in a hundred year flood level once a year
or more frequently let me repeat that an event that used to cause severe flooding once a century
we're going to get that same water level once a year what cities are we talking about places like
los angeles san diego key west miami jacksonville savannah honolulu but at least there is a plan
to defend venice we headed out to one of the three inlets where the tides from the adriatic sea flow
into the lagoon that surrounds the city this is where venetians hope that a controversial project
called moses will part the waters more than 30 years in the making moses is supposed to deploy
78 retractable gates to block exceptional high tides as this animation illustrates construction
finally began in 2003 but corruption scandals and engineering challenges have delayed moses
years past its due date after all the tests are done when are you saying that moses will be ready
is now planned by the end of 2021 in a tunnel 60 feet below sea level we met alessandro soru
the project's lead engineer so how many days a year was it planned that moses would be used say
an average of 10 days a year but the fear is if the adriatic continues to rise past projections
the moses gates may have to be raised nearly every day by the middle of this century
it was not designed for that kind of wear and tear
the worst flood in venice's history happened in 1966 it was only a few inches higher than this
past november's back in 66 experts said the flood was a once in 800 year event
nonetheless thousands of venetians left for good it really was the major historic turning point
in the recent history of the city and we thought that something like that would not happen again
is a product of that flood a professor of english literature at venice's kafoskari university
his parents met when his mother went to venice to help the flood victims they stayed but how many
will now that the seasonal high tides known as aqua altas are getting worse explain how it was
different this time from previous aquaaltas so i think that people now feel far more vulnerable
we're hearing the sirens now aquat is coming back you see this is what's happening it's happening
every day now it's never happened like that you know it happens one two three days now it's like
over a week that every day we have that this is new when you hear the sirens does that take you
back so i you know now it really makes me feel very nervous the story will continue after this
our eight days in venice we found the city on edge because the water keeps defeating
the accommodations residents have already made to it the real real threat as far as i'm concerned
is that may actually push even more people away and would live the city as a kind of ghost town
or as a beautiful empty museum the ground floors in this stooped and shrinking city have already
been abandoned life has lived on the first story and above artisans like severio pasteur one of the
last who patiently crafts or locks for the city's gondolas are becoming scarce while residents weigh
moving out the tourists keep marching in donning neon booties and learning to walk on water or in
single file on the hastily assembled footbridges that lace through what may be a doomed city
to give venice a future its mayor wants to turn the city into a world laboratory to
combat climate change why don't we do it here let's do it here let's study it here
let's study the water let's study the pollution the rising waters the temperature
it could be an example of great mobilization at a world level
is the message to the rest of the world if you don't say venice it will happen to you next
but i think i'd like a different message let's save venice to save the world
venice has survived before every november venetians flocked to the santa maria del
salute church which was built to commemorate the end of the 17th century plague that killed
50 000 citizens this year's ceremony in the wake of the flood had a special resonance
the festival is a festival about survival was it more well attended this year than
it would have been in the past absolutely i think that it was more heartfelt i think a
lot of people this time felt you know this might not be there forever i think this is
what has perhaps changed that a lot of us are feeling well we cannot take this for granted
what would be lost is a city where so much of the art interprets the natural beauty of
light that arrives twice a day once from the sun and once as it is reflected back off the water
but venice is no longer just something beautiful to look at its fragility is a warning to the rest
of the planet that this ancient city is under pressures from forces it cannot control venice
is not alone in a world of warming temperatures and sea level rise no place is an island