The death toll in Italy has risen to 17 after a week of severe weather and flooding across the country, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Agency.

The onslaught of strong wind and heavy rain over the past week devastated parts of Italy and led to the worst flooding Venice has seen in at least a decade.

In the northern region of Veneto, damage estimates have reached over one billion euros, and several villages have been cut off as a result of landslides.

The severe weather also wrought havoc on the environment, with dozens of hectares of forestry — including the famous ‘Violin Forest’ — decimated after winds reached up to 190 kilometers per hour (118 mph).

Roberto Ciambetti, president of the Veneto Regional Council, told CNN that around 300,000 trees were flattened after winds swept through the Val d’Assa in the Asiago plateau.

“Tens of thousands of tall trees were felled like toothpicks,” he said.

Ferocious winds drove the high tide to 156 centimeters (61 inches) above average sea level on Monday — one of the highest levels ever recorded. It left three-quarters of Venice submerged.

St. Mark’s Square was turned into a lake and floodwater spilled across the ancient marble floors of St. Mark’s Basilica.

“In a single day, the basilica aged 20 years, but perhaps this is an optimistic consideration,” Carlo Alberto Tesserin, head of the board responsible for St. Mark’s Basilica, said in a statement.

Floodwaters also covered several dozen square meters of the 1,000-year-old marble pavement in front of the alter of the Madonna Nicopeia, a 12th-century icon, and submerged the Baptistery and the Zen Chapel, Tesserin said.

This week’s flooding was caused by a seasonal high tide and a strong low-pressure system in southern Europe that brought strong winds from the south and pushed water up the Adriatic Sea into Venice. This is the peak time of the year for seasonal flooding known as acqua alta, or high water, in the city.

Flooding at high tide has become much more common in Venice because of climate change — a problem that will continue to worsen as seas rise because of increasing temperatures and melting ice sheets, according to CNN meteorologists.

Work to install innovative underwater flood barriers to protect Venice from serious flooding, known as the Moses Project, has been underway for years. However, it has not yet been completed, thanks in part to corruption and spiraling costs.

A spokesman for the Civil Protection Agency in Venice told CNN that the Moses system could have mitigated the impact of salt water on the city’s historic sites.

“Of course if the Moses project was completed the damages we are seeing now would not have happened,” he said, “but the project was not completed because of the high cost.”

The spokesman for the mayor’s office called for the project to be completed. “The Moses project is important to the Venetians,” he said. “This infrastructure must be completed to avoid extraordinary waters, like what happened on Monday.”

A spokeswoman for the New Venice Consortium, which is responsible for the Moses system, told CNN: “The work on the Moses began in 2003. At the moment it is 92-93% concluded.”

Venice also has a system in place to monitor tides and warn of high water levels.</s>The death toll in Italy has risen to 17 after a week of severe weather and flooding across the country, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Agency.

The onslaught of strong wind and heavy rain over the past week devastated parts of Italy and led to the worst flooding Venice has seen in at least a decade.

In the northern region of Veneto, damage estimates have reached over one billion euros, and several villages have been cut off as a result of landslides.

The severe weather also wrought havoc on the environment, with dozens of hectares of forestry — including the famous ‘Violin Forest’ — decimated after winds reached up to 190 kilometers per hour (118 mph).

Roberto Ciambetti, president of the Veneto Regional Council, told CNN that around 300,000 trees were flattened after winds swept through the Val d’Assa in the Asiago plateau.

“Tens of thousands of tall trees were felled like toothpicks,” he said.

Ferocious winds drove the high tide to 156 centimeters (61 inches) above average sea level on Monday — one of the highest levels ever recorded. It left three-quarters of Venice submerged.

St. Mark’s Square was turned into a lake and floodwater spilled across the ancient marble floors of St. Mark’s Basilica.

“In a single day, the basilica aged 20 years, but perhaps this is an optimistic consideration,” Carlo Alberto Tesserin, head of the board responsible for St. Mark’s Basilica, said in a statement.

Floodwaters also covered several dozen square meters of the 1,000-year-old marble pavement in front of the alter of the Madonna Nicopeia, a 12th-century icon, and submerged the Baptistery and the Zen Chapel, Tesserin said.

This week’s flooding was caused by a seasonal high tide and a strong low-pressure system in southern Europe that brought strong winds from the south and pushed water up the Adriatic Sea into Venice. This is the peak time of the year for seasonal flooding known as acqua alta, or high water, in the city.

Flooding at high tide has become much more common in Venice because of climate change — a problem that will continue to worsen as seas rise because of increasing temperatures and melting ice sheets, according to CNN meteorologists.

Work to install innovative underwater flood barriers to protect Venice from serious flooding, known as the Moses Project, has been underway for years. However, it has not yet been completed, thanks in part to corruption and spiraling costs.

A spokesman for the Civil Protection Agency in Venice told CNN that the Moses system could have mitigated the impact of salt water on the city’s historic sites.

“Of course if the Moses project was completed the damages we are seeing now would not have happened,” he said, “but the project was not completed because of the high cost.”

The spokesman for the mayor’s office called for the project to be completed. “The Moses project is important to the Venetians,” he said. “This infrastructure must be completed to avoid extraordinary waters, like what happened on Monday.”

A spokeswoman for the New Venice Consortium, which is responsible for the Moses system, told CNN: “The work on the Moses began in 2003. At the moment it is 92-93% concluded.”

Venice also has a system in place to monitor tides and warn of high water levels.</s>The death toll in Italy has risen to 17 after a week of severe weather and flooding across the country, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Agency.

The onslaught of strong wind and heavy rain over the past week devastated parts of Italy and led to the worst flooding Venice has seen in at least a decade.

In the northern region of Veneto, damage estimates have reached over one billion euros, and several villages have been cut off as a result of landslides.

The severe weather also wrought havoc on the environment, with dozens of hectares of forestry — including the famous ‘Violin Forest’ — decimated after winds reached up to 190 kilometers per hour (118 mph).

Roberto Ciambetti, president of the Veneto Regional Council, told CNN that around 300,000 trees were flattened after winds swept through the Val d’Assa in the Asiago plateau.

“Tens of thousands of tall trees were felled like toothpicks,” he said.

Ferocious winds drove the high tide to 156 centimeters (61 inches) above average sea level on Monday — one of the highest levels ever recorded. It left three-quarters of Venice submerged.

St. Mark’s Square was turned into a lake and floodwater spilled across the ancient marble floors of St. Mark’s Basilica.

“In a single day, the basilica aged 20 years, but perhaps this is an optimistic consideration,” Carlo Alberto Tesserin, head of the board responsible for St. Mark’s Basilica, said in a statement.

Floodwaters also covered several dozen square meters of the 1,000-year-old marble pavement in front of the alter of the Madonna Nicopeia, a 12th-century icon, and submerged the Baptistery and the Zen Chapel, Tesserin said.

This week’s flooding was caused by a seasonal high tide and a strong low-pressure system in southern Europe that brought strong winds from the south and pushed water up the Adriatic Sea into Venice. This is the peak time of the year for seasonal flooding known as acqua alta, or high water, in the city.

Flooding at high tide has become much more common in Venice because of climate change — a problem that will continue to worsen as seas rise because of increasing temperatures and melting ice sheets, according to CNN meteorologists.

Work to install innovative underwater flood barriers to protect Venice from serious flooding, known as the Moses Project, has been underway for years. However, it has not yet been completed, thanks in part to corruption and spiraling costs.

A spokesman for the Civil Protection Agency in Venice told CNN that the Moses system could have mitigated the impact of salt water on the city’s historic sites.

“Of course if the Moses project was completed the damages we are seeing now would not have happened,” he said, “but the project was not completed because of the high cost.”

The spokesman for the mayor’s office called for the project to be completed. “The Moses project is important to the Venetians,” he said. “This infrastructure must be completed to avoid extraordinary waters, like what happened on Monday.”

A spokeswoman for the New Venice Consortium, which is responsible for the Moses system, told CNN: “The work on the Moses began in 2003. At the moment it is 92-93% concluded.”

Venice also has a system in place to monitor tides and warn of high water levels.</s>Fierce storms that have killed 18 people in Italy this week also razed thousands of hectares of forest in the country's devastated north, officials said today.

Trees covering the mountainsides in the Dolomites range were reduced to matchsticks, flattened by winds that tore through the Veneto region Thursday as storms killed five people in northern Italy.

"It's like after an earthquake," Veneto governor Luca Zaia said. "Thousands of hectares of forest were razed to the ground, as if by a giant electric saw."

A photo taken from a fire helicopter showing flattened forests in the Dolomites. Photo: Vigili del Fuoco

In addition, 160,000 people in the region were left without electricity, Zaia said, adding that parts of the Dolomites were "reduced to looking like the surface of the moon."

"We've been brought to our knees," he said.

On Thursday, storms in northern Italy killed two pensioners aged 74 and 73 when a tree fell on their car in the Aosta Valley. Another person fell into a river in the Brescia region and was dragged under by the current.

In the Alto Adige region, an 81-year old died after falling off the damaged roof of his Alpine cottage, while a 53-year old whose car was hit by a falling tree during bad weather on Monday died from the injuries.

These fatalities brought the total number of people killed during this week’s violent storms to 18.

Italy's civil protection agency described the weather lashing Italy this week as "one of the most complex meteorological situations of the past 50 to 60 years".

Severe flooding at St Mark's Square in Venice on Monday. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

Bad weather continues in many parts of the country, with rain and thunderstorms today in parts of Lazio, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and elsewhere.

Floods in Sicily have closed many roads and mayors have ordered schools, public parks, and underpasses shut.

Meteorologists predict heavy rain and storms throughout Italy this weekend.

Italian regions have been counting the costs of the storms over the past few days, particularly the six northern regions placed under red alert for several days.

Veneto and Liguria were among the regions worst affected, though bad weather struck every part of the country earlier this week.

The picturesque fishing village of Portofino near Genoa, a famed holiday resort on the Italian riviera, was only reachable by sea after the main road collapsed and an emergency path opened to let residents out was deemed too dangerous.

"It won't be easy or quick but we count on returning Portofino next summer to the millions of tourists who come to visit it," regional governor Giovanni Toti said.

The Genoa region alone had suffered tens of millions of euros worth of damage -- a price tag that could rise to hundreds of millions in the long term, he added.

Several towns in the province of Belluno were cut off after a landslide damaged a mountain road and repair efforts were hampered by the insistent heavy rains.

Venice was inundated by historic high water levels on Monday, leading to the evacuation of tourists from the centre.

READ ALSO: Veneto and Liguria count the cost of storms and flooding</s>Roma, 2 novembre 2018 - Maltempo senza tregua. Dopo i 13 morti registrati nei giorni scorsi, ieri altre quattro persone sono rimaste vittime delle intemperie, in Valle d'Aosta e in Trentino Alto Adige. Oggi si contano altri due morti: non ce l'ha fatta Denis Magnani, 34 anni di Segno di Predaia, colpito da un fulmine lunedì durante l'ondata di maltempo. E sempre vittima di una scarica elettrica di una saetta anche una turista tedesca di 61 anni, colpita a Carloforte in Sardegna. La donna, originaria di Berlino, stava facendo un trekking con il marito di 74 anni, il figlio e alcuni amici quando è giunto il temporale. Il gruppo ha quindi deciso di tornare alla loro auto. Poco prima di salire sulla vettura hanno sentito un tuono e la signora è stata colpita e scaraventata a terra per diverse decine di metri. Sotto choc il marito e il figlio.

La situazione oggi è particolarmente critica nel Bellunese, dove una frana di terra e fango ha completamente ostruito nelle ultime ore la strada regionale 203 che collega Cencenighe con Agordo. Energia elettrica e acquedotti restano in tilt. In Veneto è ancora allerta rossa e Zaia chiede l'attivazione dell'sms solidale. Anche Toti sta elaborando con il governo lo stato di emergenza e parla di danni al sistema ligure per centinaia di milioni. Dal governo arriva così la rassicurazione: stop tasse e cartelle per le zone devastate, in particolare Veneto e Liguria, fa sapere la viceministro dell'Economia Castelli. E in serata è lo stesso premier Giuseppe Conte a sentire i governatori Zaia, Toti e Fedriga (Friuli Venezia Giulia).

Ma la situazione è difficile anche in Sicilia, con nubifragi ed esondazioni soprattutto nelle province di Palermo, Agrigento e Trapani. Emilia: allerta arancione per il Po.

Milioni di alberi caduti. L'esperto: manca la manutenzione - di RITA BARTOLOMEI

COMUNI ISOLATI NEL BELLUNESE - Al momento risultano isolati i comuni a nord dello smottamento nel Bellunese, causato dalle piogge che continuano a cadere incessanti. Si tratta, tra gli altri, degli abitati di Rocca Pietore, Colle Santa Lucia e Selva di Cadore.

ELETTRICITA' E ACQUEDOTTI IN TILT - Per quanto riguarda la bassa tensione, ossia le utenze fondamentalmente domestiche, sono ormai duecento i generatori a gasolio che la società Terna ha attivato in più località della provincia di Belluno ma non sempre l'erogazione è costante. Molte località lamentano infatti microinterruzioni di durata variabile che implicano una sorveglianza costante anche sulle apparecchiature di uso più comune. Nelle località di Saviner di Laste di Rocca Pietore e Molino di Falcade si attende la riparazione degli impianti di generazione autonoma da poco installati ma entrati in blocco. Relativamente invece alla rete di acquedotti è sottolineata l'importanza, a titolo precauzionale, di bollire l'acqua prima di un suo utilizzo a fini alimentari. In alcune aree, del tutto prive di erogazione, si sta provvedendo con l'invio di autobotti mentre a patire i disagi maggiori appare ancora l'Alto Agordino. Qui la rete di acquedotti è pesantemente danneggiata e i tempi di ripristino vengono stimati in oltre una settimana. I collegamenti stradali, infine, sono interrotti nel comune di Gosaldo. Il territorio è ancora irraggiungibile a causa di una frana a Frassenè di Voltago Agordino. L'attività scolastica riprenderà lunedì.

ANCORA ALLERTA METEO - La profonda saccatura di origine atlantica, presente sulla penisola iberica, sta convogliando sul nostro Paese intense correnti caldo-umide e instabili che, nelle prossime ore, determineranno il persistere di condizioni di spiccata instabilità su gran parte dell'Italia. Il Dipartimento della Protezione Civile ha emesso un avviso di condizioni meteorologiche avverse che prevede dal mattino di oggi, venerdì 2 novembre, il persistere di precipitazioni da sparse a diffuse, anche a carattere temporalesco su Emilia-Romagna, Toscana, Lazio, Abruzzo, Umbria e Molise.

Vento forte da quadranti meridionali con raffiche di burrasca sul Lazio, specie sui settori costieri. I fenomeni saranno accompagnati da rovesci di forte intensità, frequente attività elettrica e forti raffiche di vento. Sulla base dei fenomeni previsti e in atto è stata valutata anche per la giornata di oggi allerta rossa sui bacini montani e pedemontani del Veneto e allerta arancione sui restanti settori. Allerta arancione anche su Appennino pavese, in Lombardia, sui settori costieri meridionali della Toscana, sull'intero territorio di Umbria, Lazio e Campania, su alcuni settori di Abruzzo, Molise e sui bacini costieri occidentali e centro-meridionali della Sicilia. Valutata inoltre allerta gialla su gran parte dell'Italia.

NUBIFRAGI IN SICILIA - Tra Prizzi, Corleone e Palazzo Adriano, nel Palermitano, è esondato un torrente. Le strade sono state trasformate in vie d'acqua. Provvisoriamente chiuso al traffico il tratto della statale 189 "della Valle dei Platani", nel territorio Lercara Friddi (Palermo), invaso dall'acqua. Analoga situazione sulla statale 115 "Sud Occidentale Sicula", a Sciacca, in provincia di Agrigento per l'esondazione del torrente Cansalamone. Nel capoluogo siciliano la pioggia battente, che come ieri è caduta incessantemente, ha provocato disagi e allagamenti in varie quartieri, da Mondello alla zona di via Ugo La Malfa, fino in via Imera. E la statale 119 a Gibellina, in provincia di Trapani, è stata interessata da una caduta di massi provocata dalle forti piogge. Il traffico è stato deviato sulla viabilità locale.

Notevoli danni a Sciacca, cittadina in provincia di Agrigento dove domani le scuole resteranno chiuse e alcune famiglie che vivono ai piedi del monte San Calogero sono da ieri quasi isolate a causa di una frana che ha provocato il cedimento di una strada.

VIDEO / La Palermo-Agrigento si trsforma in un fiume di fango

VIDEO / Sciacca invasa dall'acqua

LIGURIA, TOTI: STOP TASSE E MUTUI - "Stiamo elaborando con il governo lo stato di emergenza. Stiamo elaborando l'ordinanza di Protezione Civile che in genere contiene misure di quel tipo: oltre agli aiuti per i sindaci per quelle che si definiscono somme urgenze - il ristoro delle somme spese per liberare le strade, per le pulizie straordinarie - ci sono poi la sospensione di tasse, utenze, mutui'', ha annunciato il presidente della Regione Liguria Giovanni Toti. "Non sarà una cosa facile né rapidissima ma contiamo per l'estate prossima di restituire Portofino a tutti i milioni di turisti che vengono a visitarlo", ha poi assicurato Toti dopo un sopralluogo nelle zone più colpite dal maltempo. "Apriremo la strada sussidiaria sul monte dietro Portofino per non lasciare isolato il paese in caso di mareggiate poi comincerà un progetto per mettere in sicurezza e ripristinare la strada di collegamento". Il viceministro Edoardo Rixi: "Da una prima stima si parla di 5 o 6 milioni di euro di danni solo sulla strada di Paraggi. Una ventina i milioni di danni alle infrastrutture tra Portofino e Santa Margherita. Rapallo ha un porto privato, dovrà intervenire il privato". Aggiungendo: "Occorre intervenire subito soprattutto a S.Margherita Ligure dove l'abitato è a rischio in caso di forte mareggiata. Per la ricostruzione useremo il fondo grandi emergenze, per rendere disponibili subito i soldi".

Domenica attivo numero di solidarietà 455000

VENETO IN GINOCCHIO - Anche il Veneto è in ginocchio e il governatore Zaia ha chiesto l'attivazione di "un apposito numero solidale per l'invio di sms da telefonia mobile e per le telefonate dalla rete fissa". In una lettera inviata al capo della Protezione Civile Borrelli Zaia spiega che "in considerazione dell'entità dell'emergenza, che sta assumendo dimensioni catastrofiche, ritengo utile promuovere ogni sforzo per reperire risorse e aiuti".

VIDEO / Una medusa in piazza San Marco

CASTELLI: IN ARRIVO STOP TASSE E CARTELLE - Ecco allora che su Facebook la viceministro dell'Economia Laura Castelli annuncia che "la sospensione degli obblighi fiscali così come le azioni di riscossione per questi territori sono una misura prioritaria che deve essere accompagnata da un sostegno finanziario per rimettere in piedi la rete dei servizi e delle infrastrutture".

CHIAZZE DI DETRITI NEL GARDA - È stato richiuso da ieri sera intanto lo scolmatore Adige-Garda che dalla mezzanotte di martedì scorso e fino a giovedì ha scaricato nel lago di Garda 350 metri cubi al secondo di acqua dell'Adige, salvando Verona dall'esondazione. La galleria-scolmatore di Torbole (Trento) era stata utilizzata l'ultima volta 18 anni fa. Una misura 'pagata' a caro prezzo però dal Garda, perché nel bacino sono finiti migliaia di metri cubi di fanghiglia e detriti del fiume, che hanno coperto con enormi chiazze marroni le acque azzurre del Garda. "Di fronte al pericolo di allagare Verona e creare problemi di sicurezza a persone e cose, il Garda - spiega in una nota la 'Comunità' - si è accollato il sacrificio di 'ospitare' per alcune ore le acque dell'Adige. Una misura eccezionale che confidiamo non comprometterà la qualità delle acque del lago".

CASAMICCIOLA INVASA DALLE PIETRE - Immagini scioccanti arrivano da Casamicciola (Napoli), dove il muro perimetrale di un albergo è franato per le forti piogge. Secondo una prima stima, circa 400 metri cubi di detriti hanno raggiunto e invaso la piazza principale del paese. Fortunatamente non ci sono feriti.

ALLERTA ARANCIONE PER IL PO - Allerta meteo di colore arancione per criticità idraulica sulla pianura emiliana orientale e sulla costa ferrarese dalla mezzanotte di oggi a quella di domani lanciato dalla Protezione Civile regionale. Un'allerta di colore giallo, sempre per criticità idraulica nella pianura e bassa collina emiliana occidentale e per criticità idrogeologica nelle zone stessa zona, invece nei bacini emiliani occidentali, in quelli emiliani centrali e orientali e romagnoli. "La presenza di un minimo depressionario sul Tirreno determinerà l'afflusso di correnti umide ed instabili sulla nostra regione che determineranno piogge diffuse di debole intensità per la giornata di domani. Un colmo di piena nel fiume Po è in transito tra le sezioni di Borgoforte e Sermide nel Mantovano. Un nuovo colmo è attualmente in transito a Ponte Becca nel Pavese e arriverà nella sezione di Piacenza nella serata di oggi. Nel pomeriggio di domani e transiterà nella sezione di Boretto".</s>VIDEO: Drone footage shows the extent of the destruction in Italy from severe weather. Hundreds of thousands of tress were knocked down and 60,000 people lost electricity. https://t.co/o8LMoPUc3O Pro zobrazen? videa mus?te m?t zapnutou podporu JavaScriptu

Drone footage shows the extent of the destruction in Italy from severe weather. Hundreds of thousands of tress were knocked down and 60,000 people lost electricity. https://t.co/o8LMoPUc3O</s>Italy’s Civil Protection Agency has confirmed a German tourist died on Friday when hit by lightning in Sardinia while another person struck by lightning several days ago died in hospital. A spokesperson for the Agency said 17 deaths related to the destructive weather have so far been reported to it. Many of the victims have been killed by falling trees, with 14 million destroyed since the gales began. Areas all the way from the far northeast to Sicilly in the south west have been affected, with the worst damage inflicted in the northern regions of Trentino and Veneto.

This is the region around Venice - where villages and roads have been cut off by landslides. Several squares and pavements in Venice have been submerged in the highest floods the canal city has seen in 10 years. Angelo Borelli, head of the Civil Protection Agency, revealed Veneto had been hit by winds of up to 112mph, warning the situation there was “apocalyptic”. Luca Zaia, the governor of Veneto, warned the storms may have caused at least €1 billion worth of damage.

On Friday, weather forecasters warned the destructive weather is not going to give a rest to the ravaged country any time soon, with heavy rain and thunderstorms set to hit in the coming days. The civil protection has issued red alerts in Veneto, Venice’s region, which in the last days was submerged by the waters of the canal, swamped by the violent rains, flooding homes and shops. Orange warning for storms were issued in 12 Italian regions out of 22, including Tuscany and Lazio, regions were are situated, respectively, Florence and Rome. But the areas which suffered the most are all located in northern Italy.

In Bergamo, a city in the rich region of Lombardy, the public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation against unknown people to assess if the series of landslides that hit the nearby town of Vilminore di Scalve “cutting it to slices”, as said in local reports, could have been avoided. And more misery piled up for people living in the iconic Riviera in Liguria, Genoa’s region, where the airport had to be shut down after rocks and flooded debris crowded its runways. Liguria’s president, Giovanni Toti, asked the government to declare a state of emergency, saying the weather caused thousands of millions of euro in damages. The seaside city of Rapallo is still removing the dozens of large boats sunk after the collapse of the barriers of the Carlo Riva harbour.
In the floods that are affecting Italy, the death toll rises to 19 people.