Warwick students studying abroad in Venice affected by floods

Students who are currently studying abroad on Warwick’s Venice Programme, have been affected by extreme flooding, as the canal city is hit by high tides.

A Warwick student’s flat flooded in Venice. (Image: Abigail Rylance)

Severe flooding in Venice has seen “the highest water levels in the region in more than 50 years”, where the water levels peaked at 187cm on Tuesday November 12. The government has since declared a state of emergency as 90% of the city was flooded.

Popular tourist area, St Mark’s Square was closed and St Mark’s Basilica was flooded for the sixth time in 1,200 years, according to church records.

Currently, there are approximately 60 to 80 students from the departments of History and History of Art studying in Warwick’s Palazzo Pesaro Papafava for a term.

The Warwick Venice Programme has been running for over 40 years and students are taught by Warwick professors. Guided tours of the major monuments of the city are a key part of the learning in Venice. During reading week, students are sent off to spend ten days travelling across Italy.

I know students who have had to move out of their flats since they live on the ground floor. Sometimes there has been no running water or electricity in our flat.

– Kristy Kwok, second year History of Art student

Commenting on the flood, Kristy Kwok, a second-year History of Art student who is currently on a term abroad in Venice said: “We have had our seminars and lectures cancelled this week and it is just incredibly sad to see St Mark’s Square and the Basilica flooded.

“Venice is a place full of history and to see it threatened by climate change is scary. We hear these sirens everyday which warn Venetians about the flooding.

A Warwick student’s flat flooded in Venice. (Image: Alex Pickup)

“I know students who have had to move out of their flats since they live on the ground floor. Sometimes there has been no running water or electricity in our flat and a lot of the time everyone just stays indoors so we can let the emergency services do their job,” she added.

Alex Pickup, a third-year History student said: “The university has been closed since Tuesday. We have just finished reading week and only had one site visit. We also had an essay due for Friday that had been extended. WiFi is not working in most places and there is nowhere to work anymore. The library has been flooded and many of their records have been destroyed.

High water levels in a student’s flat. (Image: Alex Pickup)

He added: “The floods are tidal, so it only happens at certain times of the day. We get an early warning through an air raid siren. One siren is mild and four sirens means you need to get in doors and panic. We had four the other night.

“Food has been difficult as most of the shops got flooded. There is only one supermarket I know of that stayed open. Going in there, it looked like all the shelves had been raided.”

Another student, Abigail Rylance, also studying in Venice stated: “It is ironic that the Regional Council of Veneto were in a meeting and decided against a plan to tackle climate change just minutes before their office was flooded.

“It is such a major issue and I think everything happening in Venice now should have brought the issue of climate change to light and trigger a plan of action.”