Flood-hit Venice to reopen all schools

The flood-hit Italian city of Venice will reopen all schools that were earlier closed due to high water tides, the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro has confirmed.

In a tweet on Sunday, Brugnaro also said that forms for citizens and businesses to claim damages would be available shortly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Venice was hit by 150 cm tide on Sunday afternoon, according to the city's tide forecasting and reporting centre.

It added that tides could reach a maximum of 110 cm on Monday and Tuesday, and would remain high in the next few days.

"Venice and the Venet in the darkest periods have done the best things and this time we will all stand together again," Brugnaro said in another tweet Sunday, posting a video clip featuring himself standing on the flooded streets.

"Let's start from Venice to study the effects of climate change around the world," he said.

In an earlier tweet, Brugnaro said the devastating floodwaters were "effects of climate change" and that "MOSE must be finished soon".

MOSE, or Experimental Electromechanical Module, was first drawn up in 1987 for flood protection and has been under construction since 2003, but has received critics over its possible ecological damage.

It was originally scheduled to be completed last year but faces delays, with a price tag estimated at around 7 billion euros ($7.7 billion) once it was completed.

Venice, a World Heritage Site, was flooded on November 12 by a tidal surge of 187 cm, the highest level since 1966, when a 194 cm tide was recorded.

By November 15, the city's St Mark's Square was completely flooded and inaccessible.

City officials have removed the walkways that are normally placed over St Mark Square because, with such high tides, they would float into the water, creating safety concerns.

( With inputs from IANS )