Italy has declared a state of emergency in Venice following the worst flooding in more than 50 years.

The historic city is basically underwater, which is causing major damage to buildings and businesses.

Also underwater is a Banksy painting showing a migrant child in a life jacket holding a pink flare.

The destruction of the Banksy artwork, which first appeared in Venice earlier this year, is the least of the city’s problems.

The flooding is an indication that climate change is wreaking havoc. Last year, flooding in Venice was off the charts, and this year it’s even worse.

In an ironic turn of events, the Veneto regional council, which is located on Venice’s Grand Canal, was flooded for the first time in its history on Tuesday, just after it rejected measures to combat climate change.

CNN with more on that meeting:

…the council chamber in Ferro Fini Palace started to take in water around 10 p.m. local time, as councilors were debating the 2020 regional budget, Democratic Party councilor Andrea Zanoni said in a long Facebook post.

“Ironically, the chamber was flooded two minutes after the majority League, Brothers of Italy, and Forza Italia parties rejected our amendments to tackle climate change,” Zanoni, who is deputy chairman of the environment committee, said in the post, which also has photographs of the room under water.

Among the rejected amendments were measures to fund renewable sources, to replace diesel buses with “more efficient and less polluting ones,” to scrap polluting stoves and reduce the impact of plastics, he said.

Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, blamed climate change for the unusually high tides in Venice, and said the flooding was “a wound that will leave a permanent mark”.

A compilation of footage of the flood really drives the point home:

Brugnaro went on to say, “Now the government must listen. These are the effects of climate change… the costs will be high”.

More from the Venetian people:

More footage of the flooding collected from social media:

According to the BBC, the tide monitoring centre recorded water levels at 1,87 metres.

St Mark’s Basilica was flooded for the sixth time in 1,200 years, according to church records. Pierpaolo Campostrini, a member of St Mark’s council, said four of those floods had now occurred within the past 20 years.

The mayor said the famous landmark had suffered “grave damage”. The crypt was completely flooded and there are fears of structural damage to the basilica’s columns.

Two people have been killed as a result of the floods. One man was electrocuted as he tried to start a pump in his home, and a second person was found dead on the island of Pellestrina.

The recent flooding in Venice was caused by a combination of high spring tides and a meteorological storm surge driven by strong sirocco winds blowing north-eastwards across the Adriatic Sea. When these two events coincide, we get what is known as Acqua Alta (high water).

…While we should try to avoid attributing a single event to climate change, the increased frequency of these exceptional tides is obviously a big concern. In our changing climate, sea levels are rising and a city such as Venice, which is also sinking, is particularly susceptible to such changes

Venice could be facing more extreme flooding in the years to come if climate change isn’t dealt with on a global scale.

[sources:cnn&bbc]