Paris will be hit by a calamitous once-in-a-century flood that will leave much of the city submerged and wreck the French economy, experts have warned.
It comes as the River Seine reached levels of over 18ft this morning and forced hundreds of citizens to flee their homes.
The floods are expected to reach their peak this weekend, with the river swelling to 20ft – considerably lower than the catastrophic Great Flood of 1910, when the river rose to 28ft – but urban planners have warned of the inevitability of a huge deluge.
According to the French capital’s Urban Planning Institute, a flood on the scale of the 1910 disaster would cost the region £17.5 billion. The OECD said it would cost more like £26 billion.
Paris will be hit by a calamitous once-in-a-century flood that will leave much of the city submerged and wreck the French economy, experts have warned. Pictured: A simulation of the potentially disastrous flood bound to hit Paris sooner or later
The Urban Planning Institute produced a series of animated videos showing landmarks in the city under water – including the Louvre (pictured) – in a bid to assess how a deluge might affect the city
This year’s floods are expected to reach their peak this weekend, with the river swelling to 20ft – considerably lower than the catastrophic Great Flood of 1910, when the river rose to 28ft – but urban planners have warned of the inevitability of a huge deluge. Pictured: Central Paris under water in the simulation
Citizens on a small boat leave home in a flooded street of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in Paris today as the River Seine swells
While the 2016 floods led to the death of two people and left several injured in the Paris area, no victims have been recorded during the current episode of flooding
Charles Baubion, a risk management policy analyst at the OECD, said the city is ‘unprepared’ for the massive deluge that will inevitably come.
Speaking to The Local, he added: ‘At the end of the day this “flood of the century” will happen one day’.
He also said Paris is less prepared than most other major cities and must move into a ‘higher gear’ to protect against the impending flood.
In 2013, the Urban Planning Institute released an alarming report explaining the inevitability of the ‘100-year flood’ – so named because there is a 1/100 chance of it occurring each year.
Back then Serge Garrigues, the secretary general of the Paris Defence Zone, warned ‘the only question is when’ the natural disaster will strike the city.
In 2013, the Urban Planning Institute released an alarming report explaining the inevitability of the ‘100-year flood’ – so named because there is a 1/100 chance of it occurring each year. Pictured: Central Paris flooded in the simulation
Another alarming report in 2013 came from the OECD, which said a flood similar to the 1910 catastrophe would ‘directly and indirectly affect five million citizens, and numerous businesses’. Pictured: The computer simulation
It is estimated that over 400,000 homes, over 800,000 people and about 750,000 jobs would be at risk in a major flood. Pictured: Cars submerged in the simulation
Parisian transport officials have warned that nearly half – 45 per cent – of the city’s Metro and RER system would be knocked out. Pictured: The simulation showing the Eiffel Tower being spared
He added: ‘A really big flood would last between ten and 20 days, during which time we would not be able to do anything except survive.
‘Any return to normal could not be expected before 45 days.’
Another alarming report in 2013 came from the OECD, which said a flood similar to the 1910 catastrophe would ‘directly and indirectly affect five million citizens, and numerous businesses’.
It is estimated that over 400,000 homes, over 800,000 people and about 750,000 jobs would be at risk in a major flood.
Meanwhile Parisian transport officials have warned that nearly half – 45 per cent – of the city’s Metro and RER system would be knocked out.
The Seine reached more than 18 feet Friday morning at the Austerlitz bridge in eastern Paris. It was expected to keep rising, reaching a peak of 20 feet over the weekend
Roads on the river banks have been closed, as well as seven train stations alongside the river, but the moves didn’t cause major disruption in the City of Light
Exceptionally heavy rains have caused power outages and forced about 400 evacuations from homes along the Seine after it and other French rivers burst their banks
Water, electricity and sanitation would all be affected too, and roads would be severely damaged.
The OECD report stressed that a lack of preparations meant the affects would be much more severe.
But the Urban Planning Institute said yesterday it has made ‘major advances’ in its knowledge of a potential mega flood.
The body has also produced a series of animated videos showing landmarks in the city under water – including the Louvre – in a bid to assess how a deluge might affect the city.
But Ludovic Faytre, from the institute, told The Local: ‘We can’t avoid the flood, we can just limit the consequences.’
The Seine will hit its peak soon, but without surpassing record levels, according to Vigicrues, the body in charge of monitoring flood levels. Pictured: The Leopold-Sedar-Senghor bridge over the swollen Seine today
The floods will also have an economic impact on the businesses operating boats on the Seine, since all river traffic has been banned until further notice
Parisians, however, remained largely unfazed today as the Seine continued to rise and approach peak levels.
The Paris region has been deeply affected by the floods that hit the country over the past week, but in the capital city, it was business as usual for the most part. The Seine will hit its peak soon, but without surpassing record levels, according to Vigicrues, the body in charge of monitoring flood levels.
The Seine reached more than 18 feet Friday morning at the Austerlitz bridge in eastern Paris. It was expected to keep rising, reaching a peak of 20 feet over the weekend. That’s under the 20ft the Seine reached two years ago, and far below the levels reached during the 1910 Great Flood, when the Seine water rose to more than 28 feet.
While the 2016 floods led to the death of two people and left several injured in the Paris area, no victims have been recorded during the current episode of flooding.
Hundreds of people have been ordered from their homes in Paris amid a flood alert
Meteo France revealed that exceptionally high levels of rain this winter were to blame for the floods, with rainfall in Paris twice as high as normal
Paris police said in a statement on Thursday that 395 people have been evacuated protectively from their homes along the banks of the river in the Paris region
During this month’s floods, seven departments in central France have been placed on alert for snow and ice
Paris authorities have closed several tunnels, parks, and the bottom floor of the Louvre Museum as precautionary measures. Roads on the river banks have been closed, as well as seven train stations alongside the river, but the moves didn’t cause major disruption in the City of Lights.
On a cold morning, a small group of bystanders gathered at the Pont de l’Alma to admire and take pictures of the Seine’s muddy waters. Just in front of the bridge close to the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed in a car crash stands the Zouave. It’s a statue representing a soldier from the Crimean War, which is used by Parisians as a reference point to measure the Seine’s level.
By midday, the Zouave had water up to its thighs.
‘I’m here to take pictures and souvenirs,’ said Marc Bernard, a 59-year-old man who was born in Paris and witnessed several other floods. ‘I wouldn’t say it’s spectacular, but it’s a special atmosphere. It’s nice to watch the waters running faster.’
Only a few Paris residents have been forced to leave their homes on the Seine riverbanks. The manager of a building on the right bank in the west of the French capital said he had the ground-floor windows boarded up after residents lost most of their belonging in the 2016 floods.
‘The first residents left three days ago and yesterday or the day before. Everybody was gone here,’ said Joao De Macedo. ‘They put everything up on concrete blocks.’
De Macedo said he had noticed the water was also making its way into the building through the cellar’s floor and was penetrating the walls.
The situation is far more difficult outside Paris. Exceptionally heavy rains have caused power outages and forced about 400 evacuations from homes elsewhere on the Seine after it and other French rivers burst their banks.
Thirteen departments across France remain on alert for floods as heavy rainfall continues to batter many areas.
Two years ago, the Louvre was closed for four days due to flooding and 35,000 artworks were moved to safe zones. This year’s floods are pictured
The floods caused significant damage in the suburbs. They will also have an economic impact on the businesses operating boats on the Seine, since all river traffic has been banned until further notice.
Anthony Huard, who organizes floating parties on a boat moored in the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, said much of his activity has been halted.
‘Since the start of the year I have only been able to host just two events, instead of 10 normally,’ he said.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said the 2016 floods in the Seine and Loire basins had a negative impact on the economy worth 1.42 billion euros.