Venice was “on the verge of apocalypse” after the highest tide in more than 50 years left much of the Italian city under water, a local official has said.
Two people died as the tide peaked at 187cm at 10.50pm on Tuesday, just short of the 194cm seen in 1966.
The BBC says the deaths came on the island of Pellestrina, a thin strip of land that separates the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. A man was electrocuted as he tried to start a pump in his home, and a second person was found dead in a different part of the island.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A shopkeeper told Italy’s public broadcaster Rai: “The city is on its knees.”
The mayor says the flooding is a direct result of climate change. The highest water levels in the region in more than 50 years would leave “a permanent mark”, said Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro. “Now the government must listen. These are the effects of climate change... the costs will be high.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Brugnaro said the damage was “huge” and “dramatic”, and that he would declare a state of disaster, warning that a project to help prevent the Venetian lagoon suffering devastating floods “must be finished soon”.
The Daily Mail reports that locals claim corruption has repeatedly delayed a barrier protection system which could have prevented the disaster.
The episode was historic. St Mark’s Basilica was flooded for only the sixth time in 1,200 years, according to church records. Pierpaolo Campostrini, a member of St Mark’s council, said four of those floods had now occurred within the past 20 years.
The mayor said the iconic landmark suffered “grave damage,” in the flooding with fears of structural damage to the basilica’s columns.
-
The ‘swag gap’: are you better than your partner?In The Spotlight The viral terminology sheds light on power dynamics in modern relationships
-
Climate change is getting under our skinUnder the radar Skin conditions are worsening because of warming temperatures
-
The ‘Shakespearean bitterness’ of the thermostat warsTalking Point ‘Genuine physiological differences’ mean women and men are at odds over temperatures at home
-
Scientists want to use enhanced rock weathering to cool the EarthUnder the radar Rock dust could trap atmospheric carbon
-
Icarus programme – the ‘internet of animals’The Explainer Researchers aim to monitor 100,000 animals worldwide with GPS trackers, using data to understand climate change and help predict disasters and pandemics
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
How clean-air efforts may have exacerbated global warmingUnder the Radar Air pollution artificially cooled the Earth, ‘masking’ extent of temperature increase
-
Earth's seasons are out of whackUnder the radar The seasons' unfixed nature in different regions of the planet may have impacted biodiversity and evolution
-
When does autumn begin?The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
How 'freakosystems' are becoming the normThe explainer Ecosystems are changing permanently
-
Cloudbursts: what are the 'rain bombs' hitting India and Pakistan?The Explainer The sudden and intense weather event is almost impossible to forecast and often leads to deadly flash-flooding and landslides
