New-York tribune., 1910-01-24
PARIS FLOODS Rise
HUNDREDS HOMELESS
And DAMAGE HEAVY.
Water and Gas Mains Broken,
TrolIeys and Electric
Plants Stopped.

ter. In the north, east and west hun
dreds are homeless and ruined. AL
though it is impossible at the present
time to estimate the damage it will be
very great.
The Seine continues TO rise rapidly
and at late hour had reached within
couple of feet of the roadway at the
Place de la Concorde. Many additional
buildings have been flooded including
the printing works of the official Jour.
nal"
The river authorities state that the
Marne will rise three feet by Monday
and they have instructed the mayors OF
all the towns along it's banks that the
riverside houses must be vacated with
out delay
Another line of the subway suspended
traffic at midnight, the electric current
failing
Montereau, near Fontainebleau. is to-
tally under water and without food. An
urgent request has been sent to the mil
itary authorities at Fontainebleau for
three thousand rations of bread.
The rise in the waters continued all
to-day. At Paris. the Seine. which regis
tered 6 4S metres yesterday. had reached
40 at noon to-day The normal height
of the river at this season is 24S. The
torrent almost touched the arches of the
beautiful bridges, threa tening their de-
struction. The Pont des Arts and the
Pont de TAlma are in momentary dan
ger and are guarded by police.
The sharp cold of yesterday led to the
hope of abatenent of the floods, but
this morning a heavy snow set in, turn
ing in the afternoon to rain, which is
still falling This aggravated the situa-
tion and caused great suffering TO the
victims. A dispatch from Chalons-sur-
Marne says that a huge volume of water
is sweeping downstream toward Paris.
NJ. Lepine, Prefect of Paris. after a
tour of inspection in an automobile this
afternoon, took the gravest view of the
situation.
The Weather Bureau" he said. fore
casts further rise of thirty centimetres
tonight 1 do not know what to do in
the face of this situation"
A serious accident occurred tonight
One of the water mains serving five of
the most populous ACCOMPLISHMENTS in
the south and east of the city burst. and
these districts are now without water. II
is feared that the city will be in a like
condition very soon, as the flood is in
vading the pumping stations. The COM
pressed air factory which supplies the
elevators in Paris has also been forced
to shut down
TROLLEYS STOPPED
One of the great engines which pump
the sewerage in the eastern section of
Paris broke down on account of the
food. and as a result the sewers threaten
TO overflow the streets. Several quarters
are without electric light and all the
trolley lines to the eastern suburbs are
cut of commission The main track IF
the Lyons Railroad has been partially
cut, and it is feared that traffic on this
line will be completely suspended to-
morrow.
The officials of the prefecture are busy
providing for the homeless. but they are
finding great difficulty in securing shell
ter. Several of the streets on the river
sides of Passy and Auteuil are uninhab-
pelIed 10 vacate their quarters yesterday
and about two hundred more vacated to-
day A considerable number of houses
have sunk in the soft mud and water.
and on the Boulevard Saint Germain a
house under construction is tottering
and threatening TO fall on the Chamber
of Deputies.
There is big hole outside of the For
eign Office, and the main gas pipe in the
adjoining street has broken. giving rise
to considerable apprehension. The In
valides railroad station. next door, is
partially inundated, while the cellars of
the Palais d'Orsay Hotel are flooded.
The basement of the Louvre Museum is
invaded and the military storehouse
flooded, the steam heating plant of the
former being ruined.
Thousands of people thronged the
banks of the river all day. watching the
waters rushing by. One of the few
casualties reported was the sweeping
away of a man who was trying to drag
out some floating logs.
SUBURBS IN BAD WAY.
The situation in the outskirts of Paris
is even worse than within the city
proper. The Prefect OF the Seine De-
partment made an urgent request TO the
government tonight for funds TO assist
the homeless At lie Saint Denis, Ivry,
Vitry, Maisons-Laffitte, Argenteul and
Poissy all the lower quarters are inun-
dated The aviation ground at Guvisy is
half submerged. At Alfortville the dam
burst, overwhelming two hundred houses.
the people being forced 10 fly. leaving
their belongings behind.
Owing to the widespread interruption
cations the exact situation in the PROV
inces is difficult to define. but there are
signs of Improvement in the situation in
Loire. Rhone. Marine, YOnne. the upper
reaches of the Seine and Aube. on the
other hand, the Saone and Boubs VAL
ley is one huge lake. about ten miles
broad. OF six Villa ges, the roofs alone
are showing above the water. 1t is said
that this lake is now falling, but
snowstorm has just set in.
Most of the bakers of the troops are
making bread. few of the great bake
houses have escaped destruction The
whole champagne region is in a critical
position. Vitry-le Francois, in the De-
0f MarDe stands fSoIatad