Seine river overflows in Paris

Boat tours on the Seine river in Paris were cancelled Tuesday as the river continues to rise, reaching 3.86 metres. The highways along the banks of the banks are closed, and most transportation water traffic is stopped.

Photo: AFP/Fred Dufour

Boat tours on the Seine river in Paris were cancelled Tuesday as the river continues to rise, reaching 3.86 metres. The highways along the banks of the banks are closed, and all water traffic is stopped.

The Seine has been rising since 8 December, the result of heavy snowfall in the Paris region and rain and melting snow further up the river. And it is expected to continue to rise, reaching about 4.5 meters.

That’s high, but nowhere close to the 1910 record of 8.62 metres.

Bateaux-mouches boat tours were suspended Tuesday, because the boats cannot pass under bridges. Other companies, including Batobus, Vogueo and the Bateaux Parisiens, stopped running boats on Saturday.

As happens almost each winter, water has flooded footpaths along the river. And the police prefecture closed the highway along the left bank, the ‘voie sur berge’, on Monday afternoon. The one on the right bank was closed over the weekend.

The right bank highway is closed between Saint-Exupéry and Avenue de New-York, as well as between the underground access at Tuileries and the exit at Henri IV. The highway on the left bank is closed between the Pont Royal bridge and the Quai Branly, as well as between the Quai d'Austerlitz and the Quai Saint-Bernard.

Paris is prepared for a repeat of the 1910 flood, with a plan to evacuate 50,000 residents if need be, and boats and floating bridges set up for military and transit workers to help the 350,000 people who will not have heat.