Flood in Venice (25 photos)

Both last year and this year, most of Venice was flooded due to severe flooding caused by rain. 95% of city streets and squares are already covered with water. Most tourists and townspeople were locked in hotels and houses. They are saved only by boardwalks and pontoon bridges, which are periodically washed away by the raging elements. According to weather forecasters, the rains in Venice will not stop anytime soon.

We present to your attention photographs taken during the floods in Venice last year.

A year ago, the water level on the streets of Venice reached almost 1.56 meters - it was the worst flood in 22 years and the fourth highest flood in recent years. The water began to recede on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. Local residents and tourists walked around the city in almost waist-deep water, and some even decided to have fun at the expense of the flood and ride through the flooded streets on a board. Although this flood was so severe that the mayor asked tourists to stay home for a few days, such incidents are not new in Venice - there are several such floods every year, and locals usually take them in stride.

1. Tourists take pictures in Piazza San Marco in Venice on December 1, 2008. Many streets in Venice flooded on Monday as strong winds and rain swept through the city and sea levels rose to a 22-year high. Ferries and boat service were stopped and the city's mayor asked people to stay home for a few days. Tourists and residents tried to walk along the boardwalks laid on the streets. The weather service Centro Maree reported that the level of the Adriatic Sea has risen by 1.56 meters - the highest since 1986. (REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri)

2. Duncan Zuur from the Netherlands rides a wakeboard through the flooded Piazza San Marco in Venice on December 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Handout/Euro-Newsroom.com/Joerg Mitter)

3. A girl waits for a boat during a flood in Venice on December 1, 2008. Venetian authorities have sounded the alarm, warning that sea levels will rise by 1.60 meters, the highest level in 30 years. By the morning of December 1, almost all the streets of the city, including the main tourist attractions, were under water. In the famous Piazza San Marco alone there was 80 centimeters of water. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

4. Tourists walk on wooden planks above the flooded Piazza San Marco on December 2, 2008 in Venice. (Franco Debernardi/Getty Images)

5. Owners use a wooden board to block the entrance to a mirror gift shop in Venice on December 1, 2008. The best Italian mirrors have always been made in Venice. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

6. A gondola floats through the flooded streets of Venice near the Rialto Bridge on December 2, 2008. (Franco Debernardi/Getty Images)

7. A man walks through the flooded Piazza San Marco during the flood on December 1, 2008 in Venice. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

8. General view of the flooded San Marco Square on December 1, 2008 in Venice. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

9. People walk along the flooded pier of the Grand Canal in Venice on December 1, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

10. View of the flooded port area of ​​Venice on December 1, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

11. A man stands in a boat in Piazza San Marco during the flood on December 1, 2008 in Venice. (SEBASTIANO CASELLATI/AFP/Getty Images)

12. A young man walks along a flooded pier in Venice on December 1, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

13. Tourists wade through the flooded streets of a Venice shopping district on December 1, 2008. (REUTERS/Michele Crosera)

14. Girls sit on a table in a half-flooded shoe store on December 1, 2008 in Venice. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

15. People walk along a flooded coastal path in Venice on December 1, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

16. General view of the flooded Piazza San Marco with St. Mark's Basilica in the background in Venice on Monday December 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)

17. Men drink in a flooded square next to the Rialto Bridge on December 1, 2008 in Venice. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

18. A policeman carries envelopes and documents along a flooded street in Venice on December 1, 2008. (REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri)

19. People wade past gondolas in Venice on December 1, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

20. General view of San Marco Square and the Doge's Palace (right) during the flood in Venice on December 1, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

21. People wade through the flooded streets of Venice near the canal bridge on Monday December 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)

22. People walk through San Marco Square on the second day of flooding in Venice on December 2, 2008. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO)

23. A woman walks through the flooded Piazza San Marco on December 1, 2008 in Venice. (ANDREA PATTARO/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Duncan Zuur of the Netherlands rides his wakeboard along a canal near the flooded Piazza San Marco in Venice on December 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Handout/Euro-Newsroom.com/Joerg Mitter)

25. Customers stand in a half-flooded pastry shop in Venice on December 1, 2008. Tourists and city residents had to walk along the flooded streets on wooden platforms. The Centro Maree weather service reported that the level of the Adriatic Sea rose by 1.56 meters. (REUTERS/Michele Crosera)