The 1910 Great Flood of Paris (french: Crue de la Seine de 1910) was a catastrophe in which the Seine River, 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. Si ...

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 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, 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''.

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 ci ...

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 Seine

Postcard collection of flood photographsAssemblée nationale website on the 1910 flood

L'explosition virtuelle Paris Inondé 1910: Galerie des bibliothèques, Ville de Paris

Revisiting the flood 100 years later
{{DEFAULTSORT:1910 Great Flood Of Paris 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