Reeling from devastating floods this week, Venice suffered another exceptional high tide on Sunday, with the water peaking at 4.9ft, marking the worst week for the city since official tide statistics were produced in 1872.
The city's centre for tide forecasts had warned the tide could reach 5.2ft on Sunday and the high mark hit at 1210 GMT was not far short of that.
Water flooded St Mark's Square and hundreds of voluntary workers were helping citizens cope with the emergency.
Venice hit by another exceptional high tide; worst week in 150 years https://t.co/wpmrBUGKYF pic.twitter.com/TNAp3HPDyl
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 17, 2019
The city beloved around the world for its canals, historic architecture and art, was hit by a high tide at 6.14ft on Tuesday. That was just short of the record 6.4ft set in 1966 and caused the city's worst flooding in 50 years.
With four tides above 4.6ft since Monday, this is the worst week for high tides in Venice since 1872 when official statistics were first produced.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who has been appointed special commissioner to deal with the emergency, estimated damages from the flooding in the city since Tuesday at around $1.10 billion.
Authorities in Florence and Pisa were also closely monitoring the Arno river, whose water levels rose rapidly in the night due to heavy rain.
Italy's longest river, the Po, which runs across northern Italy passing through Turin, was also being monitored after its level rose by 4.9ft in the last 24 hours due to heavy rain.
