![Jms paris elevation hydrography](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Jms_paris_elevation_hydrography.png)
The 1910 Great Flood of Paris (french: Crue de la Seine de 1910) was a catastrophe in which the
Seine River
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, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
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, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
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, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributaries ...
, carrying winter rains from its tributaries, flooded the
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
conurbation,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The Seine water level rose eight metres above the ordinary level.
Chronology
In the winter of 1909–1910, Paris and the surrounding area experienced higher than normal rainfall which saturated the ground and filled rivers to overflowing. In January 1910, Parisians were preoccupied with daily life and lulled into a false sense of security because the Seine's waters level had risen and fallen again in December. Consequently, they largely ignored reports of mudslides and flooding occurring upriver. They were also slow to notice warnings signs within the city as the Seine's water level rose eight meters higher than normal, its water began to flow much faster than normal, and large amounts of debris appeared.
By late January, the Seine River flooded Paris when water pushed upwards from overflowing sewers and subway tunnels, then seeped into basements through fully saturated soil and from the sewer system that got backed up, which led to the basements of several buildings sustaining damage.
The waters did not overflow the river's banks within the city, but flooded Paris through tunnels, sewers, and drains. These larger sewer tunnels were engineered by Baron Haussmann and Eugene Belgrand in 1878 which magnified the destruction caused by the flood in 1910.
In neighbouring towns both east and west of the capital, the river rose above its banks and flooded the surrounding terrain directly.
Winter floods were a normal occurrence in Paris but, on 21 January, the river began to rise more rapidly than normal. This was seen as a sort of spectacle where people were actually standing in the streets watching the water rise in the Seine.
Over the course of the following week, thousands of Parisians evacuated their homes as water infiltrated buildings and streets throughout the city, shutting down much basic infrastructure. The infrastructure was more vulnerable to flooding because most of it was built within the sewage system in order to avoid cluttering the streets.
Police, firefighters, and soldiers moved through waterlogged streets in boats to rescue stranded residents from second-story windows and to distribute aid. Refugees gathered in makeshift shelters in churches, schools, and government buildings. Although the water threatened to overflow the tops of the quay walls lining the river, workmen were able to keep the Seine back with hastily built levees.
Once water invaded the
Gare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard; it served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris–Orléans Railway). It was the fir ...
rail terminal, its tracks soon sat under more than a metre of water. To continue moving throughout the city, residents traveled by boat or across a series of wooden walkways built by government engineers and civilians.
On 28 January the water reached its maximum height at 8.62 metres (28.28 feet) above its normal level.
In March, the Seine finally returned to normal levels.
Consequences
Estimates of the flood damage reached some 400 million
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
, or
$1.5 billion in today's money. The flooding lasted nearly a week, according to one report.
[7 January 2010, The Guardian]
Flooding in Paris in 1910
Accessed 16 Dec 2010 Remarkably, despite the damage and duration of the flood, no deaths were reported.
There were fears that an outbreak of disease would occur after debris from flooded homes piled into the streets.
Literature and Media
* ''The Knowledge of Water'' by Sarah Smith, Ballantine, New York (1996)
* The flood provided the setting for the 2011 animated film ''
A Monster in Paris
''A Monster in Paris'' (french: Un monstre à Paris) is a 2011 French 3D computer-animated musical comedy science fantasy adventure film directed by Bibo Bergeron, and based on a story he wrote. It was produced by Luc Besson, written by Bergero ...
''.
Image gallery
Image:Flood Pont Alexandre III.jpg, Pont Alexandre III
The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. ...
during the flood
File:La rue de la Convention lors des inondations de 1910.jpeg, rue de la Convention
File:Paris 1910 Inondation avenue Félix-Faure (1).jpg, Avenue Félix-Faure
File:Paris 1910 Inondation gare Saint-Lazare.jpg, Cour de Rome, gare Saint-Lazare
File:Paris 1910 Inondation rue de Poitiers.jpg, Rue de Poitiers
File:Paris 1910 Inondation rue de Seine.jpg, Rue de Seine
File:Rue Trousseau 1910 1.jpg, Rue Trousseau
File:Square Trousseau 1910.jpg, Trousseau Square
References
Sources
Jeffrey H. Jackson, ''Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910'' (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)
External links
Crue de la SeinePostcard collection of flood photographsAssemblée nationale website on the 1910 flood L'explosition virtuelle Paris Inondé 1910: Galerie des bibliothèques, Ville de ParisRevisiting the flood 100 years later
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Great Flood Of Paris, 1910
Great Flood Of Paris, 1910
Great Flood Of Paris, 1910
Floods in France
River Seine
January 1910 events
1910 disasters in France