Monday, December 15, 2008

The Tiber Runneth Over

The sun finally came out on Saturday and I went to take some photos. The river was 10 meters above normal at one point.

After a dinner party Friday night I walked a few blocks over to the Ponte (bridge) Sisto with a friend. She’s a native Roman and had never seen the Tiber like that. She said her great grandmother sometimes had to take a boat to get around. Back then the higher banks weren’t built yet place and the Tiber would overflow.

When we arrived at the bridge it was 1:30 a.m. and the river was very high. The area was packed with police and people taking photos.

An Irish tourist, 26, here for a bachelor party fell into the river. He had been drinking with his buddies and fell off a bridge. His body as of now has not been found.

The other day people were out taking photos especially of Tiber Island and the Sant’ Angelo Bridge. The latter was shut down. There were work crews and a crane trying to secure a large tourist/dining boat that floated down river and crashed into the bridge.

To the north the river overflowed. It was strange standing on a bridge and watching bales of hay, small boats and other things flow down the river.

I have posted more photos on my Flickr page. The whole scene was unreal.

The ruined dock just north of the Vatican.


The flooded Tiber Island.


You can see the boat on the left that has crashed into the bridge.


The same view earlier this year when the Tiber was at a normal level.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about you all weekend. My husband I talked about it a lot. I think that deep in his heart, Rome will always be dearer to him than Milan could ever be and the flooding has been on his mind. Hope your neighbourhood stays dry.

Anonymous said...

I've seen this on the news. I can't imagine seeing it in person.

You stay safe!

Diana Strinati Baur said...

Ragazza, things are pretty damn extreme up and down the penninsula. I see these pictures of Rome and just want to cry. We are dealing with the aftermath of 50 inches of melted snow, topped now by two days of rain pelting us -- our river is extremely swollen, the streets are starting to flood and I am happy to be living on a hill, although part of me just wants to get out of Italy until this subsides.

We in Italy have had over 50 days of inclement weather. This is not anything which resembles normalcy.

Try to stay warm and dry. Things should start to improve on Wednesday.

Beatriz Macias said...

I am glad you are safe. Take care.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Yes we watched it on the news, very hard to imagine..looks horrendous. Hope things don't get like that again.

glamah16 said...

I saw this and thought of you.Thes weather patterns and natural occurance are wreking havoc. Stay safe and dry.

Anonymous said...

All I can say is Wow1 The water is very high. Hope you stay dry and safe.

Anonymous said...

When I read this story I thought of you and wondered how you were doing. Stay safe and God bless. Roma is still dear to my heart and I am still coming in February 2009.

Tracie P. said...

that's crazy! thanks for sharing the pics.

Lenoxave said...

Wow!Strange days we are living in. I'm used to seeing this in Venice, but not Rome.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

ciao tutti... I am safe and dry. It's raining again today. I'm so glad I was able to get out of the weekend before cabin fever set in.

Like Diana said, it should be clearing up by Wednesday and then we'll have a few days of dry weather. Yeah.

These storms have clobbered Europe. The poor farmers are worried about their crops and the snow up north has been unrelenting.

Anonymous said...

Crazy weather! Thanks for sharing the photos and hope for some clearing in the forecast.

erin said...

wow! i was wondering how everything was there. This whole rain/flood thing is crazy across Italy! Checked out your photos too...

keep us updated!

Petulia said...

wow- these are really shocking. I haven't been on POnte Sisto yet but I saw the situation near POnte Marconi and it was not pretty..is this the welcome home I deserve??

Jen said...

I hope you stay warm and dry. This is truly astounding.

Anonymous said...

Amazing photos. The weather is crazy everywhere! Did you hear that it snowed in Las Vegas?

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

no P. it's not the return you deserve. :)

I didn't hear about Vegas....that is crazy!

Liane Spicer said...

Interesting weather all over. We've been having unseasonal flooding here too. Two days ago part of the highway I use to get home fell into the river. There have been five major floods this year in areas that normally get one every five years.

Strange days indeed. Stay safe.