Italy Flooding in Venice is getting worse as high tide continues to rise this afternoon.

The city of Venice said the tide rose to 154 cm this afternoon, well below the record water level of 187 cm on November 12. However, this is enough to make 70% of the city engulfed in water, upsetting the lives of locals who are facing other cleaning and remodeling activities.

San Marco Central Square was flooded by flooding this afternoon, forcing it to close to tourists. Flooding continues to occur in shops and hotels.

"We have been in this state of emergency for many days and we cannot stand it any longer," said Nava Naccara, a resident of Venice.

The Italian government declared a state of emergency for Venice on November 14 and allocated 20 million euros to deal with the damage immediately. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro today predicted that the costs would be greatly increased.

"Venice has been devastated in recent days. We are talking about a total damage of about one billion euros. This is an emergency but we are still in control of the situation," Brugnaro said in a Twitter video. .

Experts predict the tide will rise to 110 - 120 cm by the end of the week. Under normal conditions, water levels between 80 and 90 cm are considered relatively high but still manageable.

The mayor of Brugnaro blamed climate change, which caused the average sea level to be 20 centimeters higher than the previous century, which has caused Venice to face floods in recent years.

The flood barrier system designed to protect Venice from high tides may not work until the end of 2021, due to the "characteristic" problems of major infrastructure programs in Italy. such as corruption, overspending and prolonged delays.