If a trip to Venice is on your cards, then it’s time to reschedule it. The floating city has been hit by the worst flood in 50 years, and it has brought the historic city to “to its knees”. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted on Wednesday, “St. Mark’s Basilica has sustained serious damage, like the entire city and its islands.”
Situazione drammatica pic.twitter.com/gS63ZK2j3Q
— Luigi Brugnaro (@LuigiBrugnaro) 12 November 2019
What’s More
As per reports on CNN, the Italian destination was struck by an exceptionally high tide on Tuesday night, which peaked at 187 centimeters (73.6 inches), according to a statement by Venice’s government Wednesday morning.
This is the worst flooding that the city has faced since 1966. The mayor calls the damage “enormous” and also feared that it would cost “hundreds of millions of Euros to fix the city”.
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Affected Areas
Popular tourist sites have been completely flooded. But those who have travelled miles to visit the historic city, didn’t shy away from clicking a few pictures. Standing knee deep in iconic locations like St Mark’s Square, they still have made it a point to make the most of their trip to the lagoon city.
Temporary walkways have also been made in order to make tourists walk around with ease. However, despite all the measures being taken, the experience of exploring the city isn’t the same.
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The Reason
The BBC reported, ‘St Mark’s Basilica was flooded for 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 Met department suggests that ‘climate change’ could be one of the reasons for this’. In fact, Venice’s mayor also blamed the same phenomenon for the damage and the ‘wounds that would leave a permanent mark’.
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Two casualties have been reported and various measures are being taken in order to make sure that those visiting Venice are safe and return safe. For 53,000 residents, who reside in the city, the government has asked them to make a record of the damage and accordingly they will be compensated. Another grave concern is regarding the monuments and their restoration.
Let’s hope the city rebuilds itself soon.