Venice Swamped by Highest Tide Since 1966

'These are the effects of climate change,' mayor says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 13, 2019 6:32 AM CST
Venice Swamped by Highest Tide Since 1966
High water floods the inside of St. Mark's Basilica, in Venice, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. The high-water mark 74 inches late Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, meaning more than 85% of the city was flooded. The highest level ever recorded was 76 inches during infamous flooding in 1966.   (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Venice is no stranger to flooding—the Italian city is made up of 118 islands in a lagoon—but what it is experiencing this week is extraordinary. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro plans to declare a state of emergency amid major flooding caused by the second-highest tide on record, the Guardian reports. The high-water mark hit 74 inches Tuesday night, exceeded only by the 76-inch level reached by flooding in 1966. The flooding caused at least two deaths, including that of a man apparently electrocuted by a pump. St. Mark's Basilica was flooded for the sixth time in 1,200 years, the BBC reports. Brugnaro warned that the flooding will leave a "permanent mark" on Venice. "Now the government must listen," he added. "These are the effects of climate change ... the costs will be high." (More Venice stories.)

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