Paris Under Water

Here are two photos I took of the same bank. Bottom photo shows flooding on 1/6/18, and top shows the sidewalk completely covered 1/26/18

Tales of the recent flooding of the Seine have begun to make national news. It has been raining consistently for weeks, resulting in the Seine currently experiencing depths of 16 feet - and it is expected to reach 20 feet this weekend, 13 feet more than it's normal depth! While the water levels have been horrendous and, as I mentioned in previous blogs, very dangerous since our arrival, this week the impact and damage have been more recognizable. My train station to school (the RER C) is currently closed and in other stations there have been delightful sporadic waterfalls that staff are quickly trying to patch. The sidewalks are completely gone along the river  (dashing our winter fantasy of jogging along that route) and the trees are slowly beginning engulfed. No additional rat sightings - but I have been keeping my eyes peeled. The energy of the river just feels entirely different with its swift currents and lack of boats (the water level is too high for them to go under the bridges! My school had been kind enough to book a boat for orientation - but that too was canceled due to this issue)

I wanted to share some photos I've been capturing on my walks. It is incredibly surreal walking past the Pont Neuf and see the parklet there completely submerged. The boats look like they are adrift in the middle of the river, when in fact they are where they have always been - it's just that the sidewalks are gone. Let's hope things dry out soon.