12 Historic Places at Risk From Rising Waters

This week, Venice, Italy, experienced some of the worst flooding in its history. Water more than six feet deep in some places has submerged many of the historic city’s most revered sites. While Venice is no stranger to floods, this week’s are the most extreme it has seen in 50 years. As climate change pushes sea levels higher, floods like this one—or worse—are likely to become more common.

Venice isn’t the only place at risk. More extreme and more frequent flooding is just as big of a concern in Naples, Florida, as in Naples, Italy. Island communities such as the Bahamas and Puerto Rico are facing increasingly powerful hurricanes, and stronger monsoons are contributing to dangerous flooding in southeast Asia. And climate change-related floods aren’t limited to waterfront property: Melting glaciers mean that even mountain regions lie in the flood path.