A regional Italian council based in Venice has flooded for the first time in its history, minutes after it voted against measures to tackle carbon emissions.
Italy on Thursday declared a state of emergency for Venice after an exceptional tide surged through churches, shops and homes, causing millions of euros worth of damage to the UNESCO city.
Water reached the Veneto Council's chambers on Venice's Grand Canal about 10pm local time as councillors were debating its budget.
Democratic Party councillor Andrea Zanoni said the chamber was flooded two minutes after the majority rejected his party's amendment to fund measures to address climate change.
The proposal included investing in renewable energy, replacing diesel buses with "more efficient and less polluting ones", phasing out polluting stoves and reducing plastic waste.
While the council confirmed the chamber was flooded during the meeting, council president Roberto Ciambetti told CNN the existing budget allocated funds to tackle climate change.
"Beyond propaganda and deceptive reading, we are voting (for) a regional budget that spent 965 million euros over the past three years in the fight against air pollution, smog which is a determining factor in climate change," he said in a statement.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the cabinet had approved the state of emergency and ordered the immediate release of 20 million euros ($32.4 million) in funds for "the most urgent interventions" in the devastated city after Tuesday's flooding.
People wade through water in a flooded St. Mark's Square in Venice. Source: AAP
Sirens warning of fresh flooding rang through the canal city early Thursday but the water level remained low compared to Tuesday's tide, the highest in 50 years.
Mr Conte, who has called the flooding "a blow to the heart of our country", met Venice's mayor and emergency services before jumping in a speed boat to visit businesses and locals affected by the tide.
Residents whose houses had been hit would immediately get up to 5,000 euros in government aid, while restaurant and shop owners could receive up to 20,000 euros and apply for more later, he said.
Several museums remained closed to the public on Thursday.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte visits Venice. Source: Chigi Palace Press Office
As authorities assessed the extent of the damage to Venice's cultural treasures, such as St Mark's Basilica where water invaded the crypt, many are blaming the disaster on global warming.
Venice's mayor was among several to warn that Italy - a country prone to natural disasters - must wake up to the risks posed by ever more volatile seasons.
"We need to be resilient and adapt. We need a policy that looks at the climate through completely different eyes," Environment Minister Sergio Costa said Thursday.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has estimated the damage to Venice at hundreds of millions of euros.
The Serenissima, as the floating city is called, is home to a mere 50,000 residents but receives 36 million global visitors each year.
A massive infrastructure project called MOSE has been under way since 2003 to protect the city, but it has been plagued by cost overruns, corruption scandals and delays.
"This engineering solution that will end up costing nearly six billion euros has got to work," Transport Minister Paola De Micheli said.
The plan involves 78 gates that can be raised to protect Venice's lagoon during high tides - but a recent attempt to test part of it caused worrying vibrations and engineers discovered it had rusted.
Additional reporting by AFP
