Shortly before dawn, sirens rang out across the city to warn inhabitants that the water level had risen above 1.10 meters. A few hours later, the level had risen to 1.40 meters above sea level.
Temporary footbridges in St Mark’s Square, typically put down for pedestrians when the area floods, were removed by local authorities as the risk rose that they would be swept away by the fast rising waters.
The heavy flooding is due to a combination of persistently bad weather and the usual tide coming in to the Venice lagoon off the Adriatic.