We΄ve become Venice!

The tide you see in the Ionian—Paxos—Lefkada—Syvota and (very prominently) in Venice is due to the same basic cause (the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun), but it differs in how much the signal/wave is amplified by the geometry of the sea and the weather.

The Mediterranean is a relatively enclosed basin with a geometry that does not favour large tidal ranges like the Atlantic. The Adriatic is long and narrow and can exhibit oscillations of the water as it is pulled by the Moon.

In the Ionian, the average tide is usually in the order of a few tens of centimetres. In shallow harbours and enclosed bays, a difference of 20–30 cm becomes much more noticeable when the shoreline is shallow. Often what looks like a tide is actually a mixture of astronomical tide and meteorological surge/set-down (wind pushes water into a gulf, low pressure raises sea level).

The phenomenon occurs near the New Moon and Full Moon and when winds blow persistently toward the coast/into a bay or when a deep low-pressure system passes (in which case it swells due to meteorological effects).

A striking moment was captured on video in Syvota, where the stormy sea literally spilled onto the land, flooding parts of the waterfront.

As seen in footage from thespro.gr, the waves rise above the shoreline boundary in the central square of Syvota, with water spreading across paved areas and onto the road, leaving behind debris, seaweed, and branches in its wake.

The same phenomenon was recorded in recent days in Paxos, prompting impressive photographs and comments such as “We’ve become Venice,” and it was also observed along the seafront of Lefkada.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS