Venice mayor blames climate change for ‘apocalyptic’ floods

Luigi Brugnaro calls for action after high tides kill two

Venice flooding
(Image credit: (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images))

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.

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

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.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us