The Flood

February 5, 2018

We've gotten a number of concerned and curious emails over the last couple of weeks.  The photos of the Seine breaking its banks and flooding parts of Paris have been dramatic, but the effect on us has been, well, non-existent.  (We were told that if the Seine had risen 10 more centimeters past its peak last weekend, the RER B, the commuter rail line we take to work, would have needed to shut down.  Even then, though, we have an essentially equivalent metro line to take, and some pretty good bus options, too.)  So Sandy and I decided to walk to the Seine over the weekend to see what the fuss was about and take our own photos.  I hope you will be able to tell from these pictures that the Seine, while high, is not particularly close to flooding streets near us.

The first photo shows a bridge, under which substantial boats can typically navigate easily.  The height of the river has resulted in the suspension of boat traffic, of course.  The other photos show trees whose roots and lower trunks are submerged under the water.  Those trees are planted 3 or 4 meters below street level on quays that run along the river.  The quays are flooded and water has crept up the pedestrian ramps down to the quays, but the water is still a significant distance below street level. 

  "Fine," you might say, "the flooding of the Seine might have been a bit over-hyped by the international press, but surely you have been caused enormous disruption by the Nutella Riots."   http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42826028
Those, too, we have survived.  (I found it curious that, in the wake of the violence sparked by the deep discounts of Nutella at Intermarche, two of our local supermarkets, Franprix and Monoprix, both put Nutella on sale with large displays right inside the door.)