"280 Million Won Miracle of Moses Unfolds in One Operation"…Venetian Flood Prevention 'Tidal Barrier'

Blocked Tides to Prevent Flood Damage
Construction Period 17 Years, Cost 8 Trillion Won

Venice, the iconic water city and a representative tourist destination in Italy, is also notorious for suffering from flooding damage every year. However, flooding in Venice is expected to become a thing of the past. This is thanks to the tidal barrier 'MOSE,' developed with an investment of about 8 trillion won, which has finally been put into operation.

Operation view of the Mose system [Image source: Capture from X (formerly Twitter)]

According to Italy's ANSA news agency on the 31st of last month (local time), the tidal water level around Venice rose to 154 cm at around 11:05 PM the previous night. This was due to strong winds blowing from North Africa coinciding with high tide, causing the waves to rise.

Normally, high tidal water levels cause damage to the water city of Venice. In the past, about 70% of the city would have been submerged. However, this time, Venice reportedly did not suffer any flooding damage.

Operation view of the Mose system [Image source=Capture from X (formerly Twitter)]

This was thanks to the tidal barrier installed at the entrance of Venice, known as 'MOSE.'

MOSE consists of a total of 78 artificial barriers. Under normal conditions, they remain submerged underwater, but when a tidal rise warning sounds, they rise above the water surface to block the tide. It is said to be capable of blocking tides up to 3 meters high.

MOSE is not only the name of a biblical figure but also an acronym for 'Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico' (Experimental Electromechanical Module).

As a project to build a massive barrier that can rise up to 3 meters, the engineering complexity and project costs were enormous. The idea for MOSE actually existed since the mid-1980s, but actual construction began in 2003, with the target completion date postponed eight years from 2012 to 2020.

Moses blocking the high tide [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The construction period lasted 17 years, with a budget of 6 billion euros (about 8.1 trillion won). It was a 'mega project' comparable to Moses parting the Red Sea in the Bible.

Although the construction of MOSE was extremely costly, it is expected to prevent numerous economic and social damages by stopping Venice’s flooding in the future. Since its first operation on October 3, 2020, MOSE has risen 60 times so far.

The Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica evaluated, "Since its operation began in 2020, MOSE has protected Venice, prevented damages worth millions of euros, and allowed citizens to live without inconvenience."

However, there are voices questioning MOSE’s effectiveness due to its high construction and maintenance costs. The operating cost of MOSE is known to be about 200,000 euros (approximately 280 million won) per use. Since its first operation, MOSE has been activated a total of 60 times, with expenses exceeding 10 million euros (about 1.43 billion won) to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.