Venice flooded by another high tide
18 November, 2019
An exceptionally high tide hit Venice again on Friday just three days after the city suffered its worst flooding in more than 50 years, leaving squares, shops and hotels once more inundated.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro closed access to the submerged St. Mark’s Square and issued an international appeal for funds, warning that the damage caused by the recent floods could rise to €1 billion.
Local authorities said the high tide peaked at 154 centimeters, slightly below expectations and significantly lower than the 187-centimeter level reached on Tuesday, which was the second-highest tide ever recorded in Venice.
But it was still enough to leave 70 percent of the city under water, fraying the nerves of locals who faced yet another large-scale clean-up operation.
“We have been in this emergency for days and we just can’t put up with it any more,” said Venetian resident Nava Naccara.
The government declared a state of emergency for Venice on Thursday, allocating €20 million ($22 million) to address the immediate damage, but Brugnaro predicted the costs would be vastly higher and launched a fund to help pay for repairs.
After Friday’s high waters, forecasters predicted tides of up to 110-120 centimeters during the weekend. In normal conditions, tides of 80-90 centimeters are generally seen as high but manageable.
The mayor has blamed climate change for the ever-increasing flood waters that the city has had to deal with in recent years, with the mean sea level estimated to be more than 20 centimeters higher than it was a century ago, and set to raise much further.
Groups of volunteers and students arrived in the city center to help businesses mop up, while schools remained closed, as they had been most of the week.