A tidal episode of a magnitude rarely seen in Venice caused two deaths and caused a lot of damage. The city of the Doges, however accustomed to this phenomenon of "aqua alta" is under water, and several similar episodes could occur in the coming days.

The governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, speaks of a "disastrous" situation. Touched by an "acqua alta", a high tide in Italian, of exceptional magnitude, Venice woke up Wednesday feet in the water, with a very heavy balance of two deaths and many damage. But the worst is perhaps to fear while several episodes of the same type are announced for the days to come.

1.87 meters of water

This high tide, of an exceptional magnitude of 1.87 meters, fell on Tuesday on the City of the Doges and surprised the tourists who waded in the flooded lanes while a powerful sirocco was breaking waves in the Saint square -Marc. This is the second highest "acqua alta" recorded in Venice since records began in 1923, behind that of 4 November 1966 (1.94 meters).

"We ask the government to help us, the costs will be high," tweeted Wednesday morning the mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, who announced in the night that he was going to seek recognition of the state of natural disaster.

Situazione drammatica pic.twitter.com/gS63ZK2j3Q

- Luigi Brugnaro (@LuigiBrugnaro) November 12, 2019

The images broadcast by television showed Wednesday dozens of boats having broken their moorings and drifting in the lagoon. Many gondolas were also tossed on the water and dragged into the Venetian canals.

The basilica of San Marco flooded

"It was apocalyptic, enough to give you goose bumps," Marina Vector told AFP-TV, as she and her husband used buckets to drain water from their Venetian mask shop. "The storm was so strong that the water broke through the marble flood barrier (in front of the shop), nothing could resist," she says. The famous St. Mark's Basilica, jewel of the Serenissima, was flooded under a meter of water and the crypt and presbytery completely drowned during the night. According to the building's procurator, Pierpaolo Campostrini, a flood like that of Tuesday only occurred five times in the history of the basilica, erected in 828.

Venice is regularly affected by the phenomenon of particularly pronounced tidal peaks that cause the submergence of a greater or lesser part of the island urban area. The "acqua alta" often floods the lower parts of the city, including St. Mark's Square, and can be amplified by the sirocco, as was the case on the evening of Tuesday. In order to protect the city from this calamity, which alters its artistic heritage a little more each time, a project to build 78 floating dikes to close the lagoon in the event of a rise in the Adriatic Sea has been under construction since 2003. But the extra cost and the poor workmanship caused many delays, and the project is no longer expected before 2021.