Paris Residents: Are You Ready for the Next Flood?

What Happened in the Great Paris Flood of 1910

Today is the anniversary of the 1910 Crue de Seine, the ‘flood of the century’ that devastated Paris. While January 21^st is considered the official date when the Seine spilled over the riverbanks and into the streets, homes, shops, museums, and metro tunnels of Paris, what many people today don’t realize is that the river continued rising for an entire week, finally hitting the high mark of 8.6 meters on January 28^th. A week later the waters slowly started to recede. The Seine didn’t return to its normal level until the middle of March.

You’ve all probably seen the historic postcards depicting the flooded City of Light, the grainy black and white images of Parisians navigating the streets of Paris in wooden boats, walking along narrow wooden planks erected in place of submerged sidewalks, posing in their wool caps, ankle-length dresses, and heavy winter coats. They’re almost romantic, these images of Paris and its iconic monuments surrounded by water. Many made comparisons to Venice.

But what these images don’t show is how most of the city suffered through that long, dark, wet winter month without electricity, gas lighting and heating, public transportation, telephone or telegraph communication, postal delivery, clean water, trash collection, and regular food provisions. The City of Light – once a beacon of modernity — had suddenly been thrust back into the Middle Ages. At the height of the flooding, 300 streets were underwater, and 20,000 homes were flooded, despite attempts to build sandbag barriers or brick-up cellar entrances. The worst-hit neighborhoods were along the riverbanks, especially on the Left Bank, but the flooding of cellars and tunnels extended well into the outer arrondissements of the city. Ironically, the newly constructed metro tunnels actually channeled the overflowing waters further than they would have gone on their own, with the North-South Line (now known as Metro Line 12) completely flooded as far north as the Trinité and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette stations. The Cour de Rome outside the Gare St-Lazare was transformed into a lake. As many of the power stations were in flooded zones, the city’s factories and workshops dependent on electricity were shut down. The city was paralyzed, but the Parisians took action.

The Prefecture de Police declared a curfew after dark, since there were no more streetlights. The government requisitioned boats and 75,000 horses to be brought back into the city to pull wagons and carriages, since cars and buses were soon useless. The French Army Corps of Engineers built elevated wooden walkways, hauled in brick ovens so flooded bakeries could reopen on higher ground, and worked around the clock to remove the debris being carried down the river from turning each bridge on the Seine into a dam. The Croix Rouge and other community groups helped feed, clothe, and house the thousands of Parisians in need. Strong men, some equipped with rubber fishing waders, carried women, children, and the elderly on their backs across flooded streets (and were tipped for their service). The French press – including Le Petit Parisien newspaper, which managed to continue printing daily during the crisis – applauded the overwhelming solidarity of the people of Paris to pull together and help each other. Miraculously, not only were there no reports of looting during this time, but the only direct death reported from the flooding was of the giraffe of the Ménagerie in the Jardin des Plantes, which was too big to evacuate and ended up dying of pneumonia.

When the waters finally receded, Parisians found rotting garbage, dislodged cobblestones, and enormous new sinkholes. The streets needed to be repaired, and all of the flooded buildings and cellars had to be disinfected with quicklime to prevent mold and stop the spread of disease. Headlines in Parisian newspapers were morose: “The waters recede, but the misery persists”, “Ruin, unemployment, and devastation everywhere”. It would take time to rebuild.  

This is just a brief summary of what happened to Paris during the 1910 flood. Entire books have been written about the event, such as Paris Under Water, by Jeffrey H. Jackson. If you can understand French (or just want to see some of the images and footage), you can watch the hour-long France 3 special, “Quand la Seine Montera” combining historical reenactment with footage and photos.

Is Paris Prepared for the Next Great Flood?

It’s easy to scroll through historic images of the 1910 flood and imagine – quite wrongly – that 21^st-century Paris will be just fine. Surely with our advance technology, know-how, and time to prepare, we’d only be mildly inconvenienced, right? Maybe things will be soggy and we’ll all have to ride about in boats for a week or so. But Parisians are used to shrugging off regular transport strikes and we all suffered through Covid lockdowns together.

Unfortunately, Paris is more vulnerable today than it was in 1910. When the Seine’s waters rise like they did in 1910 – and according to all of the experts, it’s more “when” than “if” – the damage will be far worse. Why? The most obvious reason is because Paris has grown exponentially over the past century into one of the most densely populated cities in the world. A massive flood similar to 1910 would directly affect close to a million Parisians, leaving them without drinking water or electricity for days, possibly weeks.

If that seems unimaginable, just look at how Hurricane Sandy brought New York City to its knees in October 2012. In the first few days, New Yorkers were full of bravado, certain they’d get through it because, hey, they’re New Yorkers. Their tune changed by the third day without electricity, when everyone’s cell phones were dead and people in high-rises without working elevators had run out of food.

When the Seine’s waters in Paris rose dangerously high in the late spring of 2016 and again in the winter of 2018, the international press flooded the world with images and headlines of “Paris Under Water.” It seemed a bit exaggerated, since only the lower quays in Paris were submerged, the ones far below street level where no permanent buildings are allowed anyway because of the flood risk. TV reporters showed the Louvre transferring artworks from their basement to higher floors (an aside: why would any museum in a flood zone have basement storage???) and deemed Paris “Unprepared”.

But the authorities in Paris have actually been planning, preparing, and practicing in earnest for many years now. This includes constant infrastructure improvements and massive flood response drills bringing together over 1000 police, fire department and other emergency personnel.

One of the major infrastructure changes that you won’t see unless you leave the city are the “Great Lakes of the Seine“, four man-made reservoir lakes upstream from the Seine. A bit like the gravel pits for runaway trucks on mountain roads, these reservoirs limit floods by storing up to 850 million cubic meters of the water coming into Paris via four tributary rivers: the Orient (Seine River), the Amance-Temple (Aube River), the Der (Marne River), and the Pannecière (Yonne River). The home page of the Seine Grands Lacs website shows how full each of the four reservoirs are at any given moment.

You can read more about how the city is preparing in this excellent, in-depth article in The Dial’s August 2023 issue by the award-winning Paris-based journalist Madeleine Schwartz: “Can Anyone Stop Paris from Drowning?”

How Parisians Are Preparing (You Can, Too!)

What the press hasn’t been showing is how Parisian residents are also being prepared for the next big flood. Because despite the abundant social services available to Parisians, the authorities already know from experience how quickly first responders and emergency services can become overwhelmed during critical moments, such as the horrific terrorist attacks in November 2015. In 2016 the City of Paris created the “Paris qui Sauve” program to train up to 15,000 Parisians per year in basic first aid — including the use of public defibrillators, how to properly call in a medical emergency, and what to do in a situation where there are multiple victims. These free training sessions are organized twice per year through the Croix Rouge (French Red Cross), the Protection Civile Paris (Paris Civil Protection, or PCP) and the Paris Fire Brigade (or sign up for their regular weekly classes throughout Paris for €65). I wrote about getting my French first aid certification with the PCP in the article, “Do you know the French phrase for stroke?”

Last year the City of Paris took the idea further by starting a new “Référents Crue de la Seine” training program in 2023 to teach the residents of Paris how to prepare for the next big flood. Like the Parisians who banded together in 1910 to survive the flood, today’s residents are going to need to rally their sense of civic duty and be proactive participants when it happens again. Not everyone will be in a position to assist neighbors and those in need, but we can all be responsible for our own basic preparedness to avoid becoming helpless victims who need saving.

If you live in Paris — even part-time — it’s essential to stay informed. Ignorance is NOT bliss when it comes to natural disasters. The people of Paris (and its many visitors) don’t need more scaremongering about what will happen to the city when the next major flood hits. We need to know how to prepare in advance, and what to do when the waters begin to rise.

With this in mind, in September I signed up for the free flood preparedness training session organized by the City of Paris in partnership with the European Center for Flood Risk Prevention (CEPRI). Approximately 1000 volunteers gathered over several weekends through December to learn everything about flooding in Paris, including which neighborhoods are most at risk, how to respond to a flood warning, where to find reliable information, how to prepare and protect loved ones, and how to assist vulnerable individuals in your neighborhood.

Much of the excellent information we received is also available online, but only in French. So, in the spirit of helping to spread the word to the English-speaking community in Paris, I’ve summarized all of the different information into one detailed article here, with links back to the original sources in case anyone wants to explore further. I’ve also added additional information specifically addressing visitors, part-time residents, and full-time residents who may not speak French.

Do You Live in a Flood Zone?

If you live in Paris or visit often, you probably already know the lower quays of the Seine are regularly closed for several days or even several weeks for flooding once the level of the river is 3m or higher, including the riverside express roads and the now-pedestrianized Berges de Seine in the center of Paris. River traffic is interrupted when the waters are too high for the boats to pass beneath the bridges, and sometimes flooding extends into certain metro or RER tunnels, causing certain lines to shut down temporarily (the St-Michel station closed for three months after damage caused by the 2018 flood).

But because the city’s modern “ground level” has been built up so much higher than the Seine over the centuries, and reservoir dams constructed upstream can better control the flow of water, there’s usually no risk of the city flooding except in extraordinary circumstances, which Paris experienced in 1910. The map below represents the areas of Paris that would be flooded if the Seine rose as high as it did in 1910. The blue areas are the streets that would be underwater; the overlapping red areas show additional areas that will likely experience flooded cellars and network outages (electricity, gas, heating, etc).

Before the Flood: How to Prepare Yourself

Long before any hint of a rainy winter, all residents should take care of some basic preparations, including:

• Check that your renters’ or homeowners’ insurance policy covers the risk of flooding; this isn’t necessarily a default in all home insurance policies, or may only cover belongings that are specifically itemized (think of your computer, artworks, your electric bike, or anything else of great value that could be damaged in a flood).
• Know where the water, electricity, and gas lines are for your house or apartment building, and who is responsible for turning them off in case of an emergency.
• Prepare a basic emergency kit (water, non-perishable food, warm clothes, battery or dynamo-powered radio and flashlight with a USB port to charge your phone, first aid kit, copies of identity papers, etc.). No need to go into “prepper” overload, especially in a small apartment with no storage, but try and have enough food and water to hold you over for at least 4-5 days.
• Avoid storing valuables in your cellar (which is a bad idea even if you’re not in a flood zone, as Parisian caves can become more humid than usual during a particularly wet season), especially if you’re only a part-time resident. If you need to empty your apartment for renters, consider a secured and insured storage unit instead.
• Make sure that if you do have things stored in the cellar, you’re able to carry any furniture or heavy boxes upstairs on your own in case you need to move items in a hurry.
• If you’re in a ground floor apartment or house that is in a flood zone and likely to take on water if the Seine floods, it would be a very good idea to know in advance where you can go in case of an emergency (such as a friend’s, a neighbor’s, a relative’s).

When the Waters Start Rising

The official “zero” level of the Seine is measured on the scale at the Pont d’Austerlitz (in the 13th arrondissement), and its flow rate is around 330m³/second. In 1910, the Seine had reached a height of 8.62m at the peak of the flood with a flow rate of 2400m³/second. Parisians measure the level of the Seine less officially by keeping an eye on the Zouave statue on the Pont de l’Alma. Normally he’s dry, but as soon as the waters rise, his feet are in the water. In 1910, at the peak of the flood, the Zouave was up to his neck in water (his statue is the only part of the original 19th-century stone bridge, which was completely rebuilt in the 1970s).

How You’ll Be Alerted

The local and international media will be reporting on the level of the Seine as soon as it begins surpassing certain markers, as we saw in 2016 and 2018. Once all measurements indicate a flood is imminent, the public authorities will start issuing instructions. It’s recommended that residents cross-check any second-hand information from social media or the new with the information posted on these official information channels (all in French, so you may need to use your favorite translation app):

• Paris.fr: The official website of the Marie de Paris, or City Hall; they also have updates on Twitter/X
• Préfecture de Police de Paris: The Paris police will be the ones who close off roads and public transport, so you’ll want to follow their updates (they also have an active Twitter/X feed).
• Vigicrues: this is the official flood map for all French waterways, with each river coded in Green, Yellow, Orange or Red alert level in real-time. Once the Seine changes from green to yellow, you’ll see detailed updates about the measurement, how likely it is to continue rising, and any possible consequences to local traffic or transport.
• Météo France vigilance map: The official French Weather station map, with similar alert coloring for all of France’s départements, green, yellow, orange or red.
• You should also bookmark the website for the Mairie/Town Hall of your arrondissement, usually “https://mairieXX.paris.fr”, where the XX is your arrondissement; for example https://mairie05.paris.fr/ or https://mairie13.paris.fr/, or https://mairiepariscentre.paris.fr/ for those who are in the 1st through 4th. You can sign up for their email newsletter and/or phone text alerts, which are also handy for protest marches, high wind alerts, or exceptional road closures in your neighborhood.
• For reliable local news in English, I would recommend France24.com or the website of your home country’s embassy in Paris (for example, the US Embassy in France or the Embassy of Canada to France.

What to Do When the Alert is Given?

Stay informed, but don’t panic. Flooding of the Seine in Paris happens slowly, unlike the flash floods that often happen in the South of France. For a flood like that of 1910, it takes an average of 10 to 15 days for the waters to reach the maximum threshold (and even longer for the flooding to recede). Parisians will have 2-3 days of advanced warning to prepare for possible power outages or an evacuation order.

• If you’re not in a flood zone and plan on staying put, make sure your emergency supplies of food and water are stocked, especially with medications, batteries, or any items you’ll need in the coming week (within reason; no one needs a year’s supply of toilet paper).
• If you aren’t already talking to your immediate neighbors, now is a good time to check in to see who is home in your building. It’s especially important to know who is in charge of your building’s electric, gas, and water switches; if you don’t have a concierge, check with your syndic (if you’re renting, get in touch with the owner or rental manager if possible).
• Check-in with loved ones, but keep telephone use to an absolute minimum to leave lines free for emergency services.
• If the authorities have asked people to stay inside, resist the urge to venture out to take photos of the Seine and flooded parts of Paris. I’m sure “everyone else” will be doing just that. You don’t need to be one of those people. If you do leave your home for any reason, leave a note or tell someone where you’re going.
• Just because you’re not in a flood zone doesn’t mean you won’t experience a power outage or be affected by other utilities outages. Pay attention for any alerts warning residents not to drink the water in case the treatment plants have flooded (when in doubt, use your bottled water).

What to Do if You’re in the Flood Zone

• If your home is in a flood zone and likely to take on water (like a ground-level apartment in the Latin Quarter), now is the time to start moving valuables and important documents to higher ground (or at least off the ground and sealed in plastic bags if possible).
• Those in the flood zone should also prepare a backpack or small suitcase you can easily carry with all of the essentials you’ll need if you have to evacuate.
• If you have the possibility (the means, somewhere to go, and the roads or trains aren’t blocked), consider leaving the Paris region until the alert is over. But don’t act prematurely, either; there was no reason to leave town in 2016 or 2018 (with 20/20 hindsight).
• Once the flood waters arrive — on your street, cellar or parking gararge — that means it’s time to turn off your building’s electricity, water, and gas (especially for lower floors). Don’t use the running water in your home until the authorities have declared that it’s safe.
• Do not use the elevators or any electric doors (like in parking garages) in case the electricity goes out. Absolutely do not enter parking garages that are even partially submerged in water; people have drowned trying to save their cars.
• Do not wade into flood water unless absolutely necessary (including in your cellar); it could be contaminated with toxic chemicals, sewage, or hide dangerous debris.
• If you’re able, check in on any neighbors who might need assistance.
• Worst-case scenario: if your home starts taking on water, or the evacuation order has been given for your neighborhood, you’ll need to leave. If you have nowhere to go, or no way of getting there, you’ll need to find out where the nearest emergency shelters have been set up. These will be communicated on all of the official channels mentioned above, especially if there is an evacuation order. Your local mairie/town hall will normally be the ones organizing the shelters.
• It should go without saying that you should respect all safety instructions given by public authorities; trying to stay behind when there has been an evacuation order can put both you and first responders in danger.

After the Flood: Taking Stock of the Damage

It may take several weeks for the waters to fully recede after a major flood (the one in 1910 took two months).

• If you stayed in Paris, stay informed of updates regarding tap water drinkability, public transportation status, and any closures of damaged roads.

• If you left the city during the flood, especially under an evacuation order, check in with your local mairie/town hall for any important information or instructions before returning home.

• For the Insurance: If your building experienced any flooding, even in the cellars, be sure to contact your insurer before you clean, move or throw out anything. Your local mairie will also have information about the procedure for making claims after a natural disaster.

Extra Resources

As uncomfortable as it might be to imagine finding one’s self in the scenario of a flood evacuation in a country where you might not speak the language fluently and all of your friends and family are far away, a little prevention — and mental preparedness — never hurts. If you’d like to learn more, here are some extra resources (in French):

EpiSeine: This site offers easy-to-read information about how individuals and businesses can prepare for flooding. They also organize regular training sessions online and in their offices in the 12th.

“Ce qu’il faut faire en cas de crue de la Seine”: article by the Mairie de Paris bringing together all of the information needed for dealing with flooding in Paris (much of the information I’ve summarized her in English is from this article and the EpiSeine website).

Assurance et catastrophe naturelle: insurance information for natural disasters from Service-Public.fr (official French administration website)