Source: Herald-Journal
Date: 08/02/1920
Event: Paris floods of 1920 "were a disaster almost equal to those of 1910"
Credit: Herald-Journal
HERALD-JOURNAL - FEB 08, 1920
Recent Floods were a Disaster in France
Paris, Jan 22- The floods of 1920 were a disaster almost equal to those of 1910 for the riverside suburbs of Paris. Houses on the banks of the Seine and Marne in vicinity of Paris are built in the middle of walled gardens the sudden rise of 15 feet had the effect of imprisoning the occupants for a week. Ordinary rowboats could not pass through the garden gates, so some beleaguered householders were provisioned by canoes, but in many instances the current was too strong for these frail craft. The householders were half starved and were only relieved by the subsidence of the waters.
The worst sufferers were the inhabitants of Maisons-Alfort and Alfortville, suburbs situated at the confluence of the Seine and Marne just above Paris. The ground there lies low and gets the benefits of the floods from both rivers. Most of the houses were flooded up to the second story and more than 5,000 inhabitants were taken in boats from the upper windows. They were provided with rough accommodation in the schoolhouses and other public buildings of suburbs less affected by the flood. Soldiers and bluejackets brought up from Brest, Rochefort and Lorient with collapsible boats rescued them and their belongings.