Paris, January 22, 2026 – One hundred and sixteen years ago, in January 1910, Paris and its surrounding region faced one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in its history: a massive flood of the Seine River. Following an exceptionally rainy December 1909, additional heavy rainfall, particularly upstream, caused the river to swell to historic levels. On January 20, 1910, with temperatures near freezing, the Seine reached an astonishing 8.62 meters at the Pont de l’Alma, submerging extensive parts of the city and its suburbs.
The City Under Water: A Gradual Paralysis
The rising waters quickly brought Paris to a standstill. On January 20, river traffic was halted as boats could no longer pass under the bridges. The following day, compressed air factories failed, causing public clocks across the capital to stop simultaneously. By January 22, the city’s power plants began to shut down, plunging the metro into darkness and paralyzing the entire city.
Deprived of electricity, Parisians resorted to oil and kerosene lamps. With tramways out of service, horse-drawn carriages made a comeback, as the city requisitioned the 75,000 horses still present in Paris to aid transportation and relief efforts. The flood became a spectacle, but also a daily struggle for survival.
Widespread Devastation and Resource Loss
Within days, major train stations, including Orsay, Austerlitz, and Les Invalides, were submerged. The basements of the Caisse des Dépôts were flooded, leading to the destruction of numerous historical archives. Out of 80,000 Parisian buildings, 20,000 were affected, primarily in their cellars and basements. Reserves of coal, wine, and potatoes were lost, posing significant challenges for residents.
Fortunately, Les Halles, known as the “belly of the capital,” remained above water, averting a widespread food shortage. However, the intense cold exacerbated the situation, leading to increased consumption of gas, coal, and electricity, creating a nightmare scenario for Parisians.
A City Transformed: Life Amidst the Waters
The 1910 flood became one of the most publicized events of the early 20th century. Newspapers, printed in millions of copies, chronicled the “drowned Paris” daily, captivating public opinion. For more than ten days, Parisians lived in isolation, with streets transformed into rivers and railway lines into lakes. To navigate, they improvised with ladders, pontoons, footbridges, and boats. People even rowed through the metro’s basements, as the capital became a veritable trap, even for residents of the wealthiest districts.
The scarcity of goods and soaring prices led to the establishment of soup kitchens. Despite the destruction, bakers managed to deliver bread by boat, showcasing remarkable resilience. Solidarity quickly emerged, with the Red Cross distributing hot soups and clothes, and Parisians mobilizing to help their neighbors.
Dramatic Situation in the Suburbs
In the suburbs, the situation was even more dire. Fifteen thousand people were left homeless in Charenton, Ivry, Alfortville, Issy-les-Moulineaux, and Corbeil. Evacuations multiplied, and Parisians organized collections to provide clothing and shoes to those affected.
The water, icy and polluted, submerged the wooden paved streets, causing them to float to the surface. Sewers overflowed, forcing residents to improvise makeshift walkways with doors, tables, or planks to access their homes. Parisian women, constrained by their long dresses and corsets, struggled to move through the city transformed into a swamp.
Combating the Crisis: Health Threats and Recovery Efforts
Facing the threat of a health crisis, Prefect Louis Lépine took decisive action. He mobilized all available men to build cement bag dikes and operate pumps continuously. Despite these considerable efforts, the situation remained critical. The prefect then called upon the army, which deployed collapsible Berton boats with canvas hulls, easy to transport and maneuver, to facilitate water evacuation.
Garbage accumulated, floating in the streets and on the Seine. To clear the city, the prefect authorized its discharge into the river, quickly transforming the Seine into a pestilential cesspool, to the detriment of downstream communities. It took thirty-four days for the Seine to return to its usual level, leaving behind an apocalyptic landscape of mud, silt, debris, and flooded cellars.
Two months were needed to pump out the water and clean the city. For several weeks, Parisians lived without electricity, gas, drinking water, or heating, enduring an extremely difficult situation. It took a year to sanitize Paris, and several years for the groundwater table to return to normal levels.
Source: meteo-paris.com
