Flood of the Seine: “140 km of tunnels can potentially be under water,” according to the RATP – The World

Read also: Floods: the Seine reach its highest level in the night

How does the RATP will cope with the flood?

We have reinforced our crisis. Given the information provided by the flood forecasting service, we have decided to launch our logistics, that is to say to carry in suburbs, in seven storage sites, the material usually stored within 100 km of Paris. We activated our suppliers and carriers: the next night and early morning, thirty large trucks have to make 50,000 blocks, 250 concrete mixers, lifting tools, concrete … All this will allow us to erect walls against water around the most exposed subway stations.

at this stage, Friday, June 3, in the late afternoon, we can not yet know whether this will be useful or not. Our developed in 2002 action plan provides for the outbreak of this process from the moment the Seine the score reached 6.60 meters, which is likely to happen overnight. We do not know if there will be a worsening of the flood then, it depends, among other rainy

Read also:. How SNCF and RATP manage the flood of the Seine?

Why use cinder blocks and not the aluminum bulkheads or barriers stainless available RATP?

One thousand of our officers are trained to receive the material and erect walls around the stations that could be flooded: there are 70. We will not use cofferdams because the stations that are most vulnerable are not equipped for. In total, the RATP has identified 470 entry point possible if the water rose even more.

What are the vulnerable metro stations?

These are obviously those situated closest to the Seine: Dugommier Bercy Quai de la Gare Chevaleret Nationale on line 6; Church to Auteuil on 10 and Mairie de Clichy on line 13. 14, very deep, will fully close if it exceeds 6.60 meters. Some RER stations are also affected: Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, Auber, Châtelet-les-Halles and Gare de Lyon. I remind you that the section of the RER C that runs through the center of Paris is already closed, and the Saint-Michel station and Cluny-La Sorbonne who were at risk because of significant runoff. Connections are no longer guaranteed, particularly in Invalides.

During large floods, there are not that overflows the river, it also produces resurgence phenomena. Remember the Gare Saint-Lazare surrounded by water in 1910: it is in a bowl

Does closing a station that brings all. the line?

not necessarily, trains can only travel on certain segments. However we can stop traffic for safety reasons, if the evacuation of passengers becomes impossible for example. We estimate that 140 km of tunnels can potentially be under water.