Case Study: Christo and Jeanne‑Claude achieve safe, timely evacuations for The Floating Piers with Earth Networks' Total Lightning Network

The power of partnerships emergency management for the floating piers

Christo and Jeanne-Claude staged The Floating Piers on Italy’s Lake Iseo in June–July 2016, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors onto a 43-mile fabric walkway over open water. Because Lake Iseo is prone to frequent, intense summer thunderstorms and lightning, the artists needed advanced, real-time weather monitoring to protect visitors; they engaged Earth Networks (via partner Radarmeteo) and used Earth Networks’ Total Lightning Network® to provide rapid storm and lightning detection.

Radarmeteo provided 24/7 meteorological support using Earth Networks’ data, issuing Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts and actionable guidance that enabled a code-red evacuation on June 26. Earth Networks’ system generated 30 alerts ahead of the storm, detected over 33,000 lightning strikes in a 12‑hour period and supported reports of gusts up to 70 km/h; the piers were evacuated within 20 minutes and cleared before anyone was in danger, preventing emergency incidents.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude