Venice floods cause mayor to declare state of emergency

The mayor of Venice has declared a state of emergency after the second-highest tide recorded on Tuesday left much of the city underwater.

It's the worst the lagoon city has suffered in more than 50 years. 

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro warned of severe damage caused by the "disastrous" tide, which peaked at 187 cm at 10:50 pm (local time).

He took to Twitter to urge for governmental assistance and blamed climate change for it.

Much of Italy has been hit with torrential rains in recent days, with forecast for more bad weather.