July 1, 2017 will be a day that is remembered by locals in the pretty Hvar resort town of Vrboska, as the canal which earned its nickname Little Venice overflows. A tourist captured the rapid rise of the water level.
As previously reported, the historic town of Stari Grad recently underwent some flooding, due to a natural phenomenon known locally as 'plima', a not uncommon occurrence in the 2400 year old town which is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Stari Grad Plain. This however was the worst flooding since 2003, and it was not the only town affected.
A few kilometres along the coast, the pretty town of Vrboska, nicknamed Little Venice due to its picturesque small canal, was beginning to resemble its Venetian lookalike more than usual, as similar weather conditions first almost emptied the canal, than rapidly filled it until it overflowed. A visiting tourist filmed the whole event.
Local resident Zdravko Podolski explained the phenomenon on his Facebook page:
"Phenomenon known as 'ščiga', related to how water in a bathtub can slosh and amplify its movement at the end of the bath. In a matter of minutes the water recedes then comes back in. Maybe repeated several times. Low pressure system, southerly winds, phase of moon, all combine to create a surge."
It is not the first time that the town has been subjected to some rather unusual sights in its harbour. The Adriatic turned a chocolate shade of brown in February 2014, as soil from the Stari Grad Plain was washed through the canal and into the sea, the first time that this had happened in living memory. Some locals at the time were wondering if there was a connection to the imminent 400-year procession of the so-called 'crying cross' in the town, which took place a few days later.
Spectacular sites all, but thankfully very rare and very temporary. For an idea of how Vrboska looks most of the time, and the reason it is one of the most beautiful destinations in Dalmatia, take a bird's eye view below through the lens of Romulic and Stojcic.
