Venice was brought to a standstill on Friday (November 15) morning after a fourth successive day of floods peaked at 154cm, closing shops, restaurants, and even the city's famed vaporetti water ferries.
The iconic St. Mark's Square, the epicenter of the recent flooding and Venice's lowest lying point, was closed to the public after it was once again completely engulfed as water levels reached almost 1 meter.
Most of the bars, shops, restaurants, and hotels were waterlogged despite flood defenses.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro again called the crisis an emergency and said millions of euros in damage had been caused by the flooding.
"We will keep an eye on things and we thank all those people who have been working, from the street cleaners, to medical staff, to the carabinieri and local police," he said.
"There is even someone here who is making a film, I sent them away, I mean there is nothing worse than speculation on moments like this," he added.
Leader of Italy's far-right League Party Matteo Salvini, wearing his trademark baseball cap, waded in on Venice's crisis as he stood in St. Mark's Square in wellington boots.
The entrance to Doge's Palace was again engulfed by water, while some shops, including luxury bag brand Longchamp, braved the floods and remained open.
Water levels had dropped to 129cm by 14:00 pm (13:00 GMT), but heavy rain and sharp winds continued to rock the city.
(Source: Reuters)