Venice council office flooded minutes after dismissing climate change plan

The Venice Council rejected the climate change plan and then Venice was flooded with historic high tides from the city’s Grand Canal. The city has its worst flooding in 50 years with water levels peaking at 1.87 meters. Luigi Brugnaro, the city's mayor described that climate change is the main reason for the major flooding that creates a record and is declared as the second highest tide in the Unesco World Heritage site. The council chambers where the measures were being discussed in Ferro Fini Palace started to take in the water around 10 am local time as councilors were debating the 2020 regional budget. According to the reports, the room flooded two minutes after the majority League, Brothers of Italy and Forza Italia had rejected the amendments to counter climate change.

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Luca Zaia was criticised for presenting a budget

Veneto regional president, Luca Zaia, was criticised for presenting a budget that does not contain any concrete action to counteract climate change. The flooding has left large parts of Venice underwater this week. The city was struck Tuesday by devastating floods, the worst in decades. Despite sunny skies, the city remained on the edge due to possibly more wind-propelled high tidal waters during the weekend. Water levels reached 1.87 meters above the sea level, the highest flooding recorded since 1966. According to the reports, the water was being pumped out of the shops and houses late on Friday.
Pictures of the flooded office, which is located on the Grand Canal, in Venice have gone viral on social media, bringing the focus back to the topic of the ongoing climate change.

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The Mayor estimated damage worth €1 billion 

The mayor estimated damage worth €1 billion ($1.1 billion). The authorities have also come up with programs to aid individuals and businesses by providing money. Individuals can expect up to €5,000 and businesses up to €20,000. The widespread crisis has urged the Italian government to release funds of about €20 million and tackle the devastation. There are concerns that irreparable damage may have been done to some of the canal city's historic sites. The state of emergency was declared on Thursday. Brugnaro said that businesses and individuals suffering even more serious losses could possibly qualify for aid covering up to 70 per cent of damages.

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