State of emergency declared in Venice due to flooding

A flooded St. Mark's Square.
(Image credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

The Italian government declared a state of emergency in Venice on Thursday, following days of flooding caused by high tides and a storm surge driven by strong winds.

At least two people have died due to the flooding, which is the worst to hit Venice in more than five decades. Flood levels reached 6 feet, 2 inches on Tuesday, and 3 feet, 8 inches on Thursday. The flooding has caused extensive damage to buildings, stores, and infrastructure, with the crypt at St. Mark's Basilica, built more than 1,000 years ago, filled with water and a third of Venice's raised walkways destroyed. "It hurts to see the city so damaged, its artistic heritage compromised, its commercial activities on its knees," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.