Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Supertide 2015: Tide of the century sees Thames seep over banks as France's famed Mont Saint-Michel is cut off from mainland

 

Rose Troup Buchanan,Heather Saul
Saturday 21 March 2015 14:39 EDT
Comments
Water laps at the shore during the high tide on Saturday afternoon
Water laps at the shore during the high tide on Saturday afternoon (ThamesPics via YouTube)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An unusually high tide following the solar eclipse has seen water seeping over the banks of London’s river Thames this afternoon.

Images flooded onto social media after the high tide saw water break over the river’s banks in some places.

The Thames Barrier was closed to protect London from the “high tide of the centre” as a “supermoon” linked to yesterday’s (admittedly underwhelming) partial solar eclipse caused rising water levels.

High tides were seen in Greenwich, Putney Embankment, Chiswick Mall and Strand-on-the Green, the Evening Standard reported.

London was not the only place affected.

A supertide enveloped France's famous Mont Saint-Michel, briefly cutting it off from the mainland before retreating back.

Observers were delighted when the supertide enveloped Mont Saint-Michel
Observers were delighted when the supertide enveloped Mont Saint-Michel (AP)

Hailed as ‘the tide of the century’ (despite happening every 18 years), the tide drew in thousands of tourists at the Unesco world heritage site, which is normally linked to mainland Normandy only by a narrow causeway at high tide.

The high tide, said to rise at the pace of a horse's gallop, turned the Mont briefly into an island today, while the day's low tide allowed people to walk on the expansive flat seabed.

Large waves crash over the crowded waterfront during the incoming tide in Saint Malo, France, 21 March 2015
Large waves crash over the crowded waterfront during the incoming tide in Saint Malo, France, 21 March 2015 (EPA)

Forecasters predicted the tide could reach as high as 14 metres, but tidal expert Nicolas Pouvreau told France 24 waves fell a few inches short of what was expected.

An even higher tide has been forecast for Saturday night.

Additional reporting by AP

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in