The situation in Venice remains tense after days of flooding. For late Saturday, forecasters announced new thunderstorms. The schools, which are also open in Italy on Saturday, should remain closed. Many museums and attractions, including the Doge's Palace on St. Mark's Square, but should open again.
For the morning, the municipality predicted a water peak of about 120 centimeters above normal sea level. At this altitude, St. Mark's Square is again flooded, because it is the lowest point of the lagoon city. However, the value is far below the record of Tuesday, at the 187 centimeters were reached and almost the entire UNESCO World Heritage city was flooded. It was the highest value in more than 50 years.
As the situation in Venice currently looks, you can see in these pictures:
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Venice: "You can not do much"On Friday, water flooded large parts of the city again. Dead rats swam in the water, residents tried to clean their shops and bars. Mayor Brugnaro said Wednesday alone damages worth one billion euros were incurred. The damage on Friday was not included. "People have lost everything," Brugnaro wrote on Twitter. The penetrating salt water makes everything even more difficult. It damages monuments, marbles and art treasures considerably more. "It is a challenge for the whole country, the Venetians do not weep for themselves, they work, we are proud to keep the young people here and give them a future."
ANDREA MEROLA / EPA-EFE / REX
Brugnaro also called for donations from abroad. "Venice is the pride of Italy, Venice is a heritage for everyone, unique in the world," he said.
The Vatican cultural representative, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, compared the destruction in Venice to the fire of Notre-Dame in Paris. It was not just a "technical discussion" at the time, he said, according to news agency Ansa. "There were people who cried because they saw a big symbol die, I would say that we have to repeat that cultural sensibility."
For Saturday, civil protection imposed the highest severe weather warning for parts of the Veneto region - but not for the city of Venice. Meanwhile, snow was already causing chaos on Friday in South Tyrol, and some villages were cut off because roads were closed. Thousands of people were without electricity, as the South Tyrolean state administration announced.