Trending this week: Restaurants operate despite deep floodwaters in Venice; Historic artifacts unearthed as Rhine River's level drops
Seventy percent of Venice, Italy, was left underwater this week after intense winds pushed sea water throughout the city.
Tourists were spotted wading through the city's most famous spots and even eating at cafes and restaurants amid standing water. Water was waist deep in some areas.
The flooding has been described as the worst to hit the city in at least a decade, according to CNN. This same storm system has been linked to at least 11 deaths across Italy.
A man with thigh-high boots walk past a gondola in a flooded in Venice, northern Italy, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. Water in Venice has risen to its highest level in more than 20 years, leaving much of the Italian city under floods and forcing residents and tourists to wade through knee-high water. City officials say the sea level topped 156 centimeters (61 inches) on Monday, well past the 110 centimeter (40 inch) flood mark, with most streets submerged. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)
St Mark’s Basilica flooded for the second time in the past 100 years, according to The Guardian.
More than 20 people were killed, mostly middle school students, this week after being swept into the Dead Sea while on a school trip.
At least 21 people were killed and dozens more were injured when the group was visiting hot springs along the Dead Sea in Jordan. An unknown amount of people are missing.
“[The floodwaters] swept away the students for 4 to 5 kilometers [2-3 miles],” Brig. Gen. Farid al-Sharaa said via AP.
Thirteen people escaped the flooding without injuries, with some holding on to rocks to survive.
Typhoon Yutu truck the Philippines this week, triggering a deadly landslides that has killed at least 15, officials said.
In the Mountain Province, a landslide buried government buildings, killing six, according to the Guardian.
In this image provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways, Mountain Province District Engineering Office, rescuers dig through the earth to search for survivors after a massive landslide in Natonin township, Mountain Province in northern Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. (DPWH MPDSEO via AP)
Major Eric Bulosan, a local military spokesman, said the intense rain caused at least 20 landslides throughout the country.
Most of those killed were construction workers or people living in temporary housing, the Mountain Province provincial disaster risk reduction and management council said.
Drought in parts of Germany has wreaked havoc on the shipping industry lately. The Rhine River was at its lowest levels this week while the Danube, Weser, Main and Elbe rivers also experienced lower water.
The Elbe River at Magdeburg has dropped to a depth of 50 cm (less than 20 inches). At least double that level is needed for normal shipping traffic, Hartmut Rhein of the city’s waterways and shipping department told the AP.
No ships carrying goods are allowed to navigate the Elbe River from south of Leipzig to the Czech Republic.
The restrictions have hiked up oil prices at gas stations and for heating.
The low river levels have killed fish and freshwater mussels and unearthed historic objects.
Heavy snow blanketed parts of Colorado this week, leaving many residents to wake to snowy lawns on Halloween, including in Denver and Colorado Springs.
Temperatures plummeted nearly 50 degrees in a span of 24 hours in some areas.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Elk playing in the new snow this morning. On my way to chase <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tornado?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tornado</a> threat in East Texas into Louisiana tonight <a href="https://twitter.com/breakingweather?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@breakingweather</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/accuweather?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@accuweather</a> <a href="https://t.co/CyqkO1jhxt">pic.twitter.com/CyqkO1jhxt</a></p>— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReedTimmerAccu/status/1057625133140054016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The snowfall led to several accidents and slick travel conditions for drivers. The Colorado Department of Transportation reported numerous travel delays and accidents along major roads and highways.
Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms moved across the southern Plains and into the Southeast, producing heavy rain, damaging winds and even a few tornadoes.
The storms killed two people: one, a police officer in Texas after her vehicle was swept into floodwaters and the other in Mississippi when a tree fell onto a car.
Significant damage was reported in the Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Strong winds tore apart buildings, knocked out power to thousands and flipped vehicles.
Before moving east, the storm led to street flooding in Houston on Wednesday evening.
Over the weekend, the first nor'easter of the season hit the mid-Atlantic to New England causing power outages, coastal flooding and wind damage.
More than 35,000 were without power at the height of the storm.
The strong winds blowing the ocean’s water onshore led to moderate to major coastal flooding at high tide from New Jersey to Long Island Sound on Saturday. Major roads and public transport lines around New York City were closed at times.
While the storm brought soaking rain to most of the Northeast, a wintry mix unfolded over the mountains of upstate New York and New England.
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