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Forbes
Forbes
Business
Niall McCarthy, Contributor

Venice Experiences Highest Tide In Over 50 Years [Infographic]

Venice has been hit by its highest tide in more than 50 years, leaving much of the city’s streets and historic squares under water. The rising tide eventually peaked at 1.87 meters, the second-highest level documented since records began in 1923. Flood water only surpassed that point on one occasion, reaching 1.94 meters back in 1966. Popular tourist sites were severely impacted and Saint Mark’s square was lying under more than a meter of water last night. Saint Mark’s Basilica was flooded for only the sixth time in 1,200 years and four of those incidents happened in the past 20 years.

Businesses also struggled to cope and tables and chairs were seen bobbing in the water outside cafes and restaurants while shop owners attempted to move their wares away from the water. Along the Grand Canal, water taxies struggled to drop tourists off at their hotels where gangways had been washed away. Visitors were even seen climbing into windows to avoid the rising water. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said he would declare a state of disaster and stated that the flood would “leave a permanent mark”. He also asked for government assistance and blamed the situation on climate change.

Locals call the floods “acqua alta” and a project to protect the city has been under construction since 2003. Entitled the MOSE project, it has struggled amid rising complexity, cost overruns and scandals, all leading to delays that have pushed back the expected completion date to 2022. After being hit by heavy rainfall on Tuesday, Italy is expecting more bad weather over the coming days which could make the situation in Venice even worse.

*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)

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