English language reports are that the waves (and possibly lightning) were bad enough to destroy the starting dock and timing system set up there, and that they're scrambling to rebuild those things in a location where the waves wouldn't take them out again.
Swimming World has a couple of damage pictures:
http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/...ostponed%20in%20Rome Quote:
Overnight, the constant 2-4 foot surf destroyed the pier near the start, leaving heavy bits of flotsam in the course. The steel structure of the Omega open water timing system that sits on floating pontoons was washed ashore in a twisted heap. The elaborate 7-camera television setup by Rai TV for a live high-definition broadcast of the 5K, 10K and 25K races was being removed from the shoreline by the production crews as the surf continued to pound the beach.