ROME – The Council of Ministers of Italy at a special meeting on Friday allocated 20 million euros to eliminate the consequences of flooding in Venice, wrote on Twitter Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

At the same time, a government decree declared a state of emergency in Venice, which should accelerate measures to compensate for the damage and restore the affected city.

“20 million were allocated, the first resources for the most urgent operations in support of the city and the population. We begin to develop a compensation plan for individuals and entrepreneurs and to allocate funds for a special bill for Venice,” Conte wrote.

Late on Tuesday evening, the city’s traditional “high water” turned into the second most powerful flood in history. The water level rose to 187 centimeters, 80% of the city was flooded. The damage amounts to hundreds of millions of euros.

Conte, who visited the city on Wednesday evening, said that as part of state support measures, individuals in Venice affected by the flood can expect compensation of up to 5 thousand euros, companies, and entrepreneurs – up to 20 thousand euros.