FLOODY HELL
Venice flooding – Another massive tidal surge wreaks more devastation with a WEEK of torrential rain to bring misery
A FIVE foot tidal surge is wreaking more havoc in flooded Venice as a week of heavy rain is forecast to heap more misery on its stricken residents.
The tide is reaching exceptional levels just three days after the historic Italian lagoon city experienced its worst flooding in more than 50 years.
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The high tide today is projected to peak at more than five feet above sea level which is way beyond normal levels.
Meanwhile heavy rain and strong is forecast for today and the weekend.
The city saw the second-worst flooding on record late on Tuesday when the water level reached more than 6 feet above sea level, prompting the Italian authorities to declare a state of emergency.
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Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told reporters he was forced to ask police to block off the iconic St Marks Square, which was already covered in knee-high water this morning.
Workers in thigh-high boots began removing the platforms used by the public to cross the square without getting wet.
Last night the government also approved 20 million euros in funding to help Venice repair the most urgent damage.
We can't waste time, this city is crying for help
Politician Matteo Salvini
Venice's mayor said the damage is estimated at hundreds of millions of euros and blamed climate change for the dramatic situation in the historic city.
He called for the speedy completion of the city's long-delayed Moses flood defence project.
The leader of the right-wing League, Matteo Salvini, visited Venice on this morning and also called for a common effort to complete the Moses project, which the Italian government now expects to be completed by 2021.
"We can't waste time, this city is crying for help," Salvini said, adding similar incidents must be avoided.
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Why is Venice so prone to flooding?
Venice experiences a phenomenon 'acqua alta' or 'high water' due to exceptional tide peaks in the Adriatric Sea.
The tidal peaks reach their maximum level in the Venetian Lagoon, which runs around and through the city, causing flooding in the region.
The causes of the tidal peaks are down to a number of factors, including the movement and phase of the moon, wind strengths and direction as well as rain level and rising sea-levels.
Exceptionally high tides in Venice occurs once every four years, on average.
However minor flooding in the city happens around four times a year and usually within the winter months.
High water can sometimes last only for a few hours but it is dependent on which part of the island is hit by floodwaters.
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Tuesday's devastating floods have reignited a years long debate on Moses, a multi-billion-euro flood defence project that has been under construction since 2003.
The project has not yet been activated, after being delayed a number of times due to corruption scandals, costs overruns and environmentalist opposition over its effects on Venice's lagoon ecosystem.
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