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Venice Floods

HIGH WATERS People in Venice, Italy, snap photos on November 15. The city has had record flooding. VITTORIO ZUNINO CELOTTO—GETTY IMAGES

Officials in Venice, Italy, are working to fast-track a project to protect the city from floods. This comes after record flooding last month.

The trouble began on November 12. Venice had its highest tide in 50 years. The water came from the Adriatic Sea. Winds pushed the water inland inland SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY-NASA/GETTY IMAGES away from the coast (adverb) As the hurricane approached, we traveled inland. . This caused severe flooding. The water reached more than six feet above sea level. That’s the second-highest level ever recorded in Venice.

The city had two more high tides later that week. They came on November 15 and 17. Each caused the water level to reach about five feet. Such levels are unusual in Venice. They have not been seen more than once in a single year since record-keeping began. The city began keeping records in 1872.

Giuseppe Conte is Italy’s prime minister prime minister NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES the leader of certain countries (noun) The prime minister of England is Boris Johnson. . He called the flooding a “blow to the heart of our country.” Homes, businesses, and monuments were all overrun with water.

St. Mark’s Basilica flooded for only the sixth time in its history. It opened in 1094.

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