After the floods in Paris on Tuesday, RATP users are worried about the vulnerability of the public transport network.
But within the RATP, we ensure that we do our best to anticipate the risks and not affect the network.
In the future, the network also knows that it will have to deal with increasingly frequent similar episodes with global warming.
It's hard to miss the images from the Balard station on Tuesday evening.
With the downpours falling in Paris, the metro was overwhelmed by heavy flooding.
A rather unexpected deluge after several episodes of heat wave all summer in France.
According to La Chaîne Météo, in just one hour, between 10 and 40 mm of rain fell.
The equivalent of two to three weeks of precipitation.
Live from Balard station #Paris pic.twitter.com/YCZ7KdRFh9
— Clement Parrot (@CParrot) August 16, 2022
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It is also difficult not to see here a direct consequence of global warming.
But a debate divides on Twitter: could the RATP have anticipated the risks of bad weather?
“The city is neither suitable for heat waves nor for floods.
Instead of cementing everything and wanting to host the 2024 Olympics, we may have to think about how to adapt to global warming, ”warns blogger Bon Pote, for example – who deals with the ecological emergency.
Opposite, political scientist François Gemenne believes that Paris “has been a pioneer city in terms of adaptation” and that the problem of floods had been identified “for almost a century”.
Can the images of the flooded metro really testify to the vulnerability of the transport network in Paris?
20 minutes
takes stock.
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"We can't do miracles, but there is real work being done," says one within the RATP.
Since 2002, the Paris transport network has implemented a flood risk prevention plan (PPRI).
"We are one of the first networks to have done so", proudly explains the management... surely in order to avoid old painful events like the famous flood of 1910 in Paris.
Once a year, the RATP organizes simulation exercises to ensure the effectiveness of its plan.
The pitch is simple: the flood is getting out of control and it is absolutely necessary to save the metro stations by preventing any water intrusion.
The idea is to protect the ventilation grilles and metro entrances concerned so as not to let the flood flood the underground network.
Two methods are then used: concrete blocks or aluminum slats.
"This plan aims to preserve our facilities - equipment and infrastructure - in the event of a risk of flooding so as to allow a rapid resumption of operations after a flood", explains our interlocutor.
Some more vulnerable stations
So how to explain the images of submerged stations at the terminus of line 8 on Tuesday?
Most certainly by the underestimation of meteorological data.
“We did not expect such a big flood”.
However, the network claims to have done the maximum when there was still time.
From 6 p.m., 8 stations "out of 368!"
were closed to the public “to avoid accidents or falls”.
“But the rest of the network was not impacted”.
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As in Balard, the risk of flooding does exist and the vulnerable stations have been identified.
"They are closely monitored in order to intervene as quickly as possible if necessary and to ensure the safety of its agents and passengers", assures the RATP.
The presence of the Seine nearby can for example constitute a risk.
Other elements also come into play: “The permeability of the network can also be explained by its age (more than 100 years), or even by the geological structure of the soil and the urban environment”.
The increase in risks
If the Plan has already been well established for several years with the teams of the network, the RATP remains aware that the worst is yet to come.
"We are preparing concretely to manage the various impacts linked to climate change", maintains the RATP.
To anticipate the effects, the network exchanges with the International Union of Public Transport (UTIP) or CoMET/Nova [the Community of international metros].
In all, three major risks have been identified.
First of all, the RATP suggests a potential persistence of the risk of major flooding of the Seine, or even the Marne.
Then, it also fears a stronger recurrence and intensity of precipitation.
"They would result in an increase in the risk of landslides on the embankments of our overhead lines, but also in localized flooding of access to stations or technical rooms which impact the operation of our network", explains our interlocutor.
Finally, beyond the floods, the Parisian network underlines the risk of an increase in average temperatures with more frequent droughts, “increasing the risks of breakdowns or mechanical damage”.
Planet
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Paris
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Public transport
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Flood
Global warming
Ile-de-France