Venice’s Famous St. Mark’s Square Flooded Again And The Videos Look Unreal
Water levels reached 100 centimeters as the famous St. Mark’s Square was left partially flooded.
High tides have caused flooding in the Italian city of Venice, leaving its famous St. Mark’s Square partially submerged.
Videos from Tuesday Aug. 1 showed tourists wading through the water, as water levels reached 100 centimeters (40 inches).
Venice’s location has made it no stranger to floods, which tends to happen annually between October and January due to seasonal tides and strong winds.
In 2019, the city experienced its second worst flood in history with at least three-quarters of the city completely flooded.
The high tide comes a few days after UNESCO experts recommended on July 31 that Venice and its lagoon are added to its list of World Heritage in Danger, saying that Italy was not doing enough to protect the city from the impact of climate change and mass tourism.
As historical buildings in Venice see serious deterioration from floods, governmental officials have started various initiatives to preserve their city.
Among them is the MOSE project, which will erect walls to protect the city from flooding and has been almost 20 years in the making.
However, the project has received criticism for its real effectiveness to combat rising sea-levels.
More than 300 floods in Venice have been recorded since 1872, with more than half happening in the past three decades.
Climate change has increased the likelihood of extreme weather events, creating more dangerous floods, according to experts.
At the same time, global warming is causing sea level to rise rapidly, sinking Venice more and more as each year passes.
With reporting from Reuters.
