Venice ‘on its knees’ after worst flooding in more than 50 years

The worst flooding in Venice in more than 50 years prompted calls on Wednesday to better protect the historic city from rising sea levels as officials calculated hundreds of millions of euros in damage. The water reached 1.87 meters (6.14 feet) above average sea level on Tuesday, the second-highest level ever recorded in the city and just 7 centimetres (2½ inches) lower than the historic 1966 flood. Another wave of exceptionally high water followed Wednesday. “Venice is on its knees,’’ Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said on Twitter. “St. Mark’s Basilica has sustained serious damage, like the entire city and its islands.” Italian news agency ANSA said two people died on the small barrier island of Pellestrina, including a 78-year-old who was electrocuted while performing repairs on his flooded home. The news agency said the other death could have been related to natural causes. In Venice, the crypt beneath St. Mark’s Basilica was inundated for only the second time in its history. Damage was also reported at the Ca’ Pesaro modern art gallery, where a short circuit set off a fire, and at La Fenice theatre, where authorities turned off electricity as a precaution after the control room was flooded. Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said no damage had been reported to art collections in museums throughout the city. Many sites remained closed to tourists, and La Fenice cancelled concerts on Wednesday and Thursday evening. Tourists floated suitcases through St. Mark’s Square, where officials removed walkways to prevent them from drifting away. Wooden boards that shop and hotel owners have placed on doors in previous floods could not hold back the water. The water was so high that nothing less than thigh-high boots afforded protection, and one man was even filmed swimming bare-chested in St. Mark’s Square during what appeared to be the height of the flood. 50-year tide leaves Italy’s floating city Venice under water “I have often seen St. Mark’s Square covered with water,’’ Venice’s patriarch, Monsignor Francesco Moraglia, told reporters. “Yesterday there were waves that seemed to be the seashore.” Brugnaro said damage would reach hundreds of millions of euros. He called on Rome to declare a state of emergency. “We are not just talking about calculating the damages, but of the very future of the city,’’ Brugnaro told reporters. “Because the population drain also is a result of this.” He described “untold damages, to houses, shops, activities, not to mention monuments and works of art. We risked our lives as well.” The flooding was caused by southerly winds that pushed a high tide, exacerbated by a full moon, into the city. 11,000 scientists declare climate emergency, warning of ‘untold suffering’ Rising sea levels because of climate change coupled with Venice’s well-documented sinking make the city built amid a system of canals particularly vulnerable. The sea level in Venice is 10 centimetres (4 inches) higher than it was 50 years ago, according to the city’s tide office. Damage included five ferries that serve as water buses, a critical means of transport. Photos on social media showed taxi boats and gondolas grounded on walkways flanking canals. Brugnaro blamed climate change for the “dramatic situation” and called for a speedy completion of a long-delayed project to construct offshore barriers. Called “Moses”, the movable undersea barriers are meant to limit flooding. But the project, which has been opposed by environmentalists concerned about damaging the delicate lagoon ecosystem, has been delayed by cost overruns and corruption scandals, with no launch date in site. US starts Paris climate pact exit – now what? Luca Zaia, governor of the Veneto region, told Sky TG24 that the barriers were almost complete, but it wasn’t clear if they would work against such flooding. “Despite 5 billion euros (US$5.5 billion) under water, St. Mark’s Square certainly wouldn’t be secure,’’ Zaia said, referring to one of Venice’s lowest points, which floods when there is an inundation of 80 centimetres (2.6 feet). Zaia also expressed concern about snowfalls in the mountains above Venice, where up to 1.2 meters (4 feet) was expected. Additional reporting by The Washington Post