I have long wanted to visit Venice, but then the water will leave the canals, then the flood.
The famous St. Mark's Square is rarely seen like this - no pigeons and crowds of tourists, there is only water around. From the frames, you can track how the level has changed over the last day. Now the area and its surroundings are hidden under a meter layer of water. “Complete destruction,” the head of the Veneto region tweeted.
The floods peaked on Tuesday. But forecasts of weather forecasters are not comforting. By the end of the day, the amount of precipitation will exceed 160 centimeters with a critical 130. The downpour will be accompanied by a powerful wind. A state of emergency has been introduced in the city.
Venice is the only city in the world whose historic center is surrounded by water on all sides. In the near future, the water level may exceed the mark of 145 centimeters from the conditional zero point.
“I have to close St. Mark's Square to prevent threats to the health of citizens. The order for the carabinieri and the police has already been given,”said the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brunyaro. He added sadly that "Venice has been destroyed."
Organized, in small groups, the police take out those who still managed to get into the famous museums and cathedrals. St. Mark's Basilica is flooded. This has happened only six times in the last 12 centuries. They are saving artistic values.
Owners of cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops are counting losses. Tourists from the first floors of hotels are relocated to the rooms located above. Several sunken water buses have been reported. There are already the first victims of the disaster. Large water is only part of the problem. After it is pumped out, salt remains from the Adriatic, which eats away everything around.
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A third of tourists have refused to travel to the most romantic city in the world. Empty gondolas are moored at the quays. The mayor's office has already estimated the damage at one billion euros. The amount is not final. The Italian government has allocated only 20 million so far. The so-called "high water" in spring and autumn in Venice is a common occurrence. But this flood is the worst in the last half century.
How can you tell if it's a flood? Flooding in Venice is recorded when the water rises 110 cm. This is called acqua alta, "high water".
Now everyone walks the streets only in rubber boots on wooden platforms, kindergartens and schools are closed.
“This could have been avoided if local authorities had installed protective barriers against water in time. Unfortunately, due to a corrupt system, this did not happen. In my opinion, this is a shame! We are losing business, works of art suffer,”says a local resident.
Run aground, 13 November 2019.
Shop owners suffer the most …
… and restaurant owners.
When the water rises by 125 cm, everything is more serious: the platforms are removed because they simply float away.
The Center for Forecasts and Warnings of Sea Level Rise does not exclude that the water will reach 155 cm. 1 meter 55 centimeters!
San Marco Square, November 13, 2019.
The maximum water was in 1966: the mark reached 187 cm.
Divers are already roaming the streets, November 13, 2019.
The maximum height of the islands of Venice is 2 meters above sea level
The lowest point in the city is Piazza San Marco. November 13, 2019.
There is no ground transport in the city at all, the Venetians move every day by boats, boats or water trams - vaporetto.
Flooded store, November 13, 2019.
Shop owners pump out water in Venice, November 12, 2019.
Piazza San Marco, 13 November 2019
Water in the Cathedral of St. Mark, this is the Cathedral of Venice (until 1807 - the court chapel at the Doge's palace), which is a rare example of Byzantine architecture in Western Europe. Located in St. Mark's Square.
A flooded crypt.
Another view of the flooded Piazza San Marco, November 13, 2019.
Piazza San Marco, 13 November 2019
This is what the flood in Venice 2019 looks like.