Selfie-obsessed Venice tourist trying to dodge flooded streets falls straight into canal

A SELFIE obsessed tourist snapping the Venice floods plunged into one of the famous Italian canals as he attempted to get his best angle.

The tourist, clad in a santa-esque red coat and hat can be seen filming himself with a selfie stick as he wades through the floodwaters in rubber boots.

The pouting photographer plunges straight into the waterCredit: Twitter, @KarinSm33476552

He appears not to notice he's wading into the depths as he aims to capture his best angleCredit: Twitter, @KarinSm33476552

Unfortunately we don't see his face as he becomes submerged in the chilly canal waterCredit: Twitter, @KarinSm33476552

But he plunges straighter over the ridge of the canal and into the murky depths, apparently completely unaware of his footing as he pouts into the camera.

Luckily, the man's phone is saved - as all is visible is his selfie stick as he flounders about in the chilly depths of the Venice canal.

Hilariously, once his white-bobbled red hat reappears he continues to pose, now neck-deep in the water.

He reappears from the slightly grotty looking waters - a plastic bag can be seen floating just to the bottom left of the camera - looking slightly sheepish before hastily putting his phone away.

A week of heavy rain has submerged the already very watery Venice as a five-foot tidal surge wreaks havoc on the city.

Intense flooding has merged the waterways of Venice with footpaths previously used to avoid soggy socks.

With the tide now reaching exceptional levels just three days after the historic Italian lagoon city experienced its worst flooding in more than 50 years.

Venice sawrecord-breaking floods earlier this week as the water level reached more than 6 feet above sea level.

Italian authorities have declared a state of emergency.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told reporters he was forced to ask police to block off the iconic St Marks Square, which was already covered in knee-high water this morning.

Why is Venice so prone to flooding?

Venice experiences a phenomenon 'acqua alta' or 'high water' due to exceptional tide peaks in the Adriatric Sea.

The tidal peaks reach their maximum level in the Venetian Lagoon, which runs around and through the city, causing flooding in the region.

The causes of the tidal peaks are down to a number of factors, including the movement and phase of the moon, wind strengths and direction as well as rain level and rising sea-levels.

Exceptionally high tides in Venice occurs once every four years, on average.

However minor flooding in the city happens around four times a year and usually within the winter months.

High water can sometimes last only for a few hours but it is dependent on which part of the island is hit by floodwaters.