Over a meter of water in the famous St. Mark's Square, and masses of water inside St. Mark's Basilica.
Parts of Venice were flooded as high water levels reached their highest levels in more than 50 years. The mayor called the city a disaster zone and said it had suffered hundreds of millions of euros in damage.
As the waters rose on Tuesday, the Adriatic Sea reached levels not seen in more than 50 years, with strong winds driving waves that crashed into the famous tourist attraction of St. Mark's Square in Venice.
”"We ask the government for help, the costs will be high. This is a result of climate change," writes the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro on Twitter.
At a press conference on Wednesday, he said that hundreds of millions of euros in damage had been caused to Venice.
One of the city's many historical treasures at risk is the gold-adorned marble crypts of St. Mark's Basilica, which are now surrounded by dirty salt water, damaging the cultural heritage.
Brugnaro will declare a state of emergency for the city, which would allow funds to be released to deal with the consequences of the flood.
The exceptional levels of ”acqua alta”, or high tide, reached 187 centimeters above normal on Tuesday morning. St. Mark’s Square was under more than a meter of water and St. Mark’s Basilica was flooded for the sixth time in 1,200 years.
Since measurements began in 1923, the water has only been this high in Venice once before, in 1966. Then it reached 194 centimeters above normal level.
”"The concerns we had a few hours ago have turned into an assessment of the extent of the damage," Brugnaro wrote. on Twitter and adds that the flood will leave a permanent wound in the city.
A man from the island of Pellestrina in the Venice lagoon died overnight when he was struck by lightning while using an electric water pump, the rescue service announced.
Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region, speaks of an ”apocalyptic destruction.”.
”Venice is on its knees,” he says in a television segment, and continues:
”"The art, the cathedral, the shops and the housing, a disaster.".
On Wednesday morning, the tide fell to 145 centimeters but is expected to reach up to 160 centimeters during the day.
A barrier that would protect Venice from flooding has been planned since 1984. But the billion-euro project, called Moses, has been plagued by corruption allegations, among other things, and is still not operational.
Source: TT
