Tonight:
4°c
Tourists warned to stay out of flood-hit Venice
Nicholas Pisa in Rome1 Dec 2008
Tourists were urged to stay away from Venice today as the city experienced its worst flooding in 30 years.
A combination of heavy rain and high winds led to the sea rising to 1.56 metres - swamping St Mark's Square and flooding floors and basements of homes and shops.
Officials said it was the highest water level since December 1979 and the fourth highest in modern times. There are fears that the water level could rise further if more bad weather materialises as forecast.
Venice's mayor Massimo Cacciari urged people to stay away from the famous lagoon city and advised locals to remain indoors at home.
Canal buses were suspended because of the flood and TV footage showed people wading through St Mark's Square in waist-deep water.
One shopkeeper interviewed on Italian television said: "It all happened so quickly - within 20 minutes the place was flooded and we were up to our waists in water. It was frightening the speed the water rose."
Pontoon bridges provided by the city council were useless as they were washed away by the water. Firefighters were called in to carry elderly Venetians to safety and pumps were brought in to clear out flooded basements.
The highest flood level ever recorded was 1.94 metres in the so-called Great Flood of 1966. High water levels of between 100-130cm above sea level are fairly common in Venice and the city is flooded several times a year, although experts say that due to climate change it is on the rise.
In 1900, St Mark's Square flooded 10 times a year but now it floods as much as 60 times a year and the city is said to be sinking at the rate of 10cm every year.
To try and halt the problem the Italian government is spending more than £3 billion on a flood defence system similar to the Thames barrier.
The mobile barriers would be raised at times when high water is predicted but their installation has been slowed by controversy over claims that they affect the environmental stability of the area.
As a result the system is not due to be finished until 2011 but experts say the city is also at risk from high water because of the undermining of the islands by drilling for gas in the sea off the city.
More than 20 million tourists visit Venice every year and it is said to be "straining at the seams" because of the huge numbers.
Last year, Unesco warned that Venice was one of its designated World Heritage sites that was threatened by climate change and that it is in danger of having any semblance of "normal" life squeezed out of it. Soaring rents and property prices - it is the most expensive city in Italy after Rome - mean Venetians can no longer afford to live in the city.
In the past 40 years the population has halved, from 120,000 in 1966 to 60,000. A quarter of those residents are older than 64 and the city's registry office has warned that Venice could be devoid of inhabitants by 2030.
However, councillor Mara Rumiz said the city is staunching the exodus of locals by promoting businesses other than tourism.
"Venice will never be Disneyland," she said, adding: "It's a normal city, which just happens to have an extraordinary cultural heritage.
