St. Mark’s Square closed in Venice due to floods

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Venice mayor has ordered for the closure of St. Mark’s Square.

The popular square’s shut down order comes after the declaration of the state of emergency  in Venice due to fresh floods.

The floods reached a high of 1.54 metres just before midday. Though the level of fresh floods is lower than Tuesday’s peak, it is still dangerous.

Churches, shops and homes have been ravaged by the floods, which on Tuesday hit their highest level in half a century.

The government has released €20 million funds to tackle the devastation. As per Met experts, the weather extremity is going to stay for some time.

The government, on the other hand, has issued a road alert for Venice on Saturday cautioning of high winds.  Earlier the culture minister Dario Franceschini warned that repairing the city would not be easy and said that over 50 churches had suffered damage.

Some hotel owners have said that their room reservations have been cancelled as far ahead as December.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who declared the emergency on Thursday, also announced that residents whose houses have suffered damages would be eligible to get up to 5,000 Euros, while restaurants and shop owners can get up to 20,000 Euros and apply for more.

The mayor has also announced for a separate fund where people in Italy and around the world can contribute to the city’s repair work.

Authorities including mayor have blamed the disaster on global warming and have cautioned that the country prone to natural disasters must wake up to the risks posed by ever more volatile reasons.

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