Along the Seine, in central Paris, the walls of the quais were doing their best under the pressure of the water on both sides. The ground was saturated and pushing out as the Seine speed and waves bashed against it.
The last flood in recent memory was in 1896 and on the second night, the flood was already exceeding that level with many more days to go.
On January 23, Parisians began to flee their homes especially those that lived at ground level. It was an exodus that wouldn’t be seen again until the early days of the Occupation of Paris in WWII. Head of police Louis Lepine tasked all departments to use boats to help save those that were stranded and boards and chairs were constructed to create makeshift walkways.
The Seine was up to the thighs of Zouave, twelve feet over the normal level. The left bank was hit hard due to another river that still flows today but can not be seen. The Biévre river once cut through the eastern side of the Latin Quarter and was once lined with tanneries and other crafts that disposed of waste and chemicals into the river. For decades the river made people sick and they decided to cover it over. It was still somewhat open at the time of the flood but either way, it wouldn’t matter. Underground it was filling and seeping into the ground further and further and above it was far over its banks on the 22nd.
Boulevard Saint Germain was buckling and stones were breaking away. The metros were filling and the line ended at Odeon, past that there was no way to navigate the tunnels or pass under the Seine.
January 24 the city was shutting down more and more with each day. Garbage plants could no longer process or even pick up debris and much of it was now floating down the Seine. In Issy in the early hours of the 24th, the banks of the Seine were now gone and within an hour the water rose six feet while people slept.
It wasn’t just the Seine, it was also the Marne that ran just outside the city that had lept its banks and flooded everything in its path.
The islands were in even worse shape. The Ile Saint Louis was created centuries ago by joining two small islands and was at a point of collapse on the eastern side. The junction of the two was filled in with debris and landfill and a road was built over it in the 17th century. With water beating against it on both sides and now rolling over the top the walls were at risk of breaking and falling into the Seine.
On January 25 Zouave was now covered up to his waist, 14.5 feet over the normal level. Shelters had been set up all over Paris out of the reach of the Seine. Inside the Eglise Saint Sulpice in Saint Germain over 650 people crowded in from all stages of life. The Bon Marche and BHV donated mattresses and blankets and the Croix Rouge was doing all they could. Just like today, the news of Paris always drew international attention and money was coming from all corners of the world to help.
January 26 saw the entire mail system in the main post office near the Louvre halted. The main telegraph of the city was also located in the basement which also included the international telegraph wires. If they failed, the city was cut off from the world. In the end, all 760 wires failed but ONE.
Outside the city soldiers and anyone with boats moved in and a full-scale effort to save people began. Hundred were pulled from higher windows and what once seemed like all hope was lost was now returning.
At the Jardin des Plantes the animals struggled with the water. Polar bears tried to climb a wall and a makeshift, Noah’s Ark created a giraffe that died before it could be saved.
January 27, Zouave was now covered up to his shoulders. The nearby Assembly saw the water filling in the central meeting room and the officers were trying to quickly pass laws to keep the people safe.
The Louvre sits up a bit higher along that portion of the Seine than most buildings but on the 7th day, it looked as if it may not withstand the water’s force. Workers quickly sprung into action with sandbags and cement to strengthen the walls of the quay to keep the reserves in the basement safe. Cobblestones that were used as weapons and to build barricades during the Revolutions of the past were now used to save the Louvre filling in gaps and strengthening the sandbags. They worked through the night as the water rose higher and higher and over their heads in spots but by the time the sun came up, they had kept all the water from reaching inside the walls of the Louvre.
January 28 as the day started the Seine was now at its highest point 27.9 feet and Zouave was buried to his neck in water. The lines of the metro that stretched over 2 miles from Austerlitz to the Orsay were now filled with water as well as the lower level of the Orsay itself.
The Eiffel Tower even shifted ¾ of an inch from its base as it was set into sand. Gustave Eiffel was such an inventor that he had hydraulic pumps in place to move it back into place if that was ever to happen.
In the early morning of January 29, Parisians woke to a very welcome sight. Blue skies and sunshine. The rain stopped and the sun returned and people screamed with joy from their windows and danced in the streets where they could.
The waters were now yellow and filled with garbage, and sewage and the smell were horrific and disease was a big concern now.
On January 30 as the water slowly went down part so of the city couldn’t hold it together any longer. Near the Palais Royal, a wall collapsed sending sewage into a basement that eventually had to be demolished. As the streets to Notre Dame could now be somewhat navigated, Archbishop Léon-Adolphe Anette held a mass in the cathedral at 3 pm. No doubt thanking Sainte Genevive who is high above in the rooster that topped the spire for looking after her city once again.
In all 643 rescues were made and only 6 lives were lost.
The water spread to the Gare Saint Lazare on the right bank. The central right bank of Paris faired better than anywhere in the city.
The Eiffel Tower even shifted ¾ of an inch from its base as it was set into sand. Gustave Eiffel was such an inventor that he had hydraulic pumps in place to move it back into place if that was ever to happen.
On the left bank, it made it up to Boulevard Saint Germain, covered in 2 feet of water. Today there are reminders throughout the city.
It took 10 days to rise and 35 to recede
24,000 buildings were flooded, 14,000 people evacuated and 5,500 were hospitalized. The flood would impact the city for years to come as it also destroyed thousands of jobs. Entire industries were shut down for months if not years. From agriculture to river works and rail trade, 48,000 jobs were impacted. The damage that would equate to two and a half billion dollars today
In the first week of February, the water now fell down to the ankles of Zouave and on February 8 the city was quickly frightened when the water rose again a few feet. It would take 2 more months until April 8 for the Seine to return to its normal level.
2016
May to June 3rd the Seine rose to its highest point in 34 years.
Since the mid 20the century a level of alerts has been put in place as the water reaches higher.
3.2 alters are triggered
3.3 roads on the banks of the Seine are closed
4.3 navigation on the river is stopped
5.1 RER C is closed
6.0 the Neptune plan is triggered which is a city-wide alert and higher level of activity in the area closest to the Seine
6.1 all the banks of the Seine are closed
6.6 walls of the metro are enforced and protected
7.2 the metro is flooded