Shopkeepers on the Grand Canal raged against those who have failed to protect the UNESCO city from the high tide, blaming corruption for the much-delayed barrier protection system which could have prevented the disaster. “The city is on its knees,” Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in an interview with national broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana. “There’s widespread devastation,” he said in the famed St Mark’s Square, which bore the brunt of the flooding. The exceptionally intense acqua alta (high waters) peaked at 1.87m. A massive infrastructure project called MOSE has been underway since 2003 to protect the city, but it has been plagued by cost overruns, corruption scandals and delays.

Source: Taipei Times November 13, 2019 16:00 UTC