In January 1910, a one-hundred-year flood of the Seine disrupted northern France. Many towns suffered severe damage, but Paris was particularly devastated. Parisians anticipated an ordinary winter flood, but on January 21, residents in neighborhoods along the river’s banks awoke to high water in basements and streets. The Seine pushed upward from below the city due to saturated soil, an overwhelmed sewer system, and water infiltrating the city’s Métro. Trains, telegraphs, electricity, and gas were cut off, and water took approximately six weeks to recede. Photographers sold images of the flood as postcards, which are often still collected today.
Contributed by Jeffrey H. Jackson
Rhodes College, Memphis, USA
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Further Readings:
- Jackson, Jeffrey H. Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910. New York: Palgrave Macmilllan, 2010
Day:
21
Month:
1
Year:
1910