美国有线新闻 CNN 威尼斯水城遭遇特大洪水 四分之三被水淹没（在线收听）

CARL AZUZ: It's not unusual to see flooding in Venice, Italy this time of year. The city of lagoons and canals is often overwhelmed by water between October and December but it is unusual to see flooding like this. A low pressure weather system has brought strong winds blowing from south to north across Northern Italy. That combined with high tide has caused flooding in at least 77 percent of Venice. If high tide levels of 5 feet 3 inches above sea level are confirmed, they'll be the city's highest since 1979. Tourists and residents have had to wade through waist high water.

Marathon runners had to splash their way through part of the city on Sunday.

But this has been more than an inconvenience. Schools have been closed. The government has warned people against traveling unless it's necessary and 9 deaths have been blamed on the flooding. Even in the capital of Rome, which is located in Central Italy, officials have issued weather alerts because of heavy rains, strong winds and violent storms. It's limited some of the vacation options for tourists. The Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Ruins of the Ancient Roman City of Pompeii, all these sights were closed because of the bad weather.