VENICE - Officials and volunteers mounted a five hour operation in Venice yesterday to practise dealing with the threat of floods. Operation "Serenissima 97" was organised to ensure that the city would be prepared for any repetition of the devastating floods of 1966.
The exercise began at 7 a.m., and workers moved books and documents to safety in a library and simulated the evacuation of treasures from a church. Flooding is an ever present threat in Venice. St Mark's Square, the city's lowest point, is flooded many times each year.