France was in the throes of the sun and heatwave only days ago. Temperatures had soared 40 degrees Celsius, there was no rain, rivers were drying up and drinking water was decreasing. And so God answered their prayers. Lo and behold, all the rain that didn't pour down in the last month.
The French capital Paris was flooded on August 16, 2022, with nearly one month's worth of rain in just an hour, Meteo France reported.
We desperately wanted rain in Paris. Well, we've got rain.... https://t.co/dqzZXOhTUw
— Dr Matthew Fraser (@frasermatthew) August 16, 2022
If you had ever dreamed of walking in the rain with your lover in the city of love, Paris…
Oh to walk in the rain with your lover in Paris... pic.twitter.com/tDIrfXIxNr
— SHORT CUTS (@shorttcuts) August 16, 2022
…the reality is likely that you and your lover get poured on and have to wade through pools of dirty water. The world can thank climate change for raining down on our romantic dreams, now they are just the stuff of some old-time movies.
J'aurais dû regarder les horaires des marées avant de sortir du boulot... #orages #paris pic.twitter.com/R5jI3xY5XF
— Italiano vero (@Italianovero1) August 16, 2022
Netizens posted videos of torrential rains in Paris, finding it hard to fathom how the weather can go from searing hot one minute ago and raining like there's no tomorrow the next.
Welcomewater in #Paris !#orages #montmatre pic.twitter.com/5uZLDYcHYt
— Juliette Bertiaux (@jubertiaux) August 16, 2022
In the south of Paris, water came gushing into the subway too. The videos of the scene looked like it was Titanic getting flooded. Several Paris metro stations were affected by flooding, the RATP transport organisation said.
🔴 EN DIRECT - #Paris : La station de métro #Balard est actuellement inondée en raison des fortes pluies.
— FLASH INFO Ile-de-France (@info_Paris_IDF) August 16, 2022
👉 La #RATP a fermé la station. (🎥 Témoin) #Orages pic.twitter.com/mBxoTulIeA
Someone on Twitter also thought that the flooding resembled the scenes of Titanic when the water was flowing down the stairs like a waterfall.
Sympa le retour à Paris pic.twitter.com/XKWfouI39X
— Léa Sirot 👓 (@LeaSirot) August 16, 2022
Would you like to be in the city of Titanic right now? Some netizens answered, "Oui." It might be sarcasm.
are you happy to be in Paris ?
— ₊˚joséphine (@f1josephine) August 16, 2022
oui 🥲 pic.twitter.com/HnX4Wu1BxB
In some places, the flooding scenes were even crazier and more frightening. A passenger on a bus recorded how water kept gushing into their bus as it tried to move forward. The video was taken by a France 24 journalist who later told the news network that she was scared.
Ummmm what is happening… #Paris #flooding pic.twitter.com/Du5ECD6wkt
— Lauren Bain (@laurenlizbain) August 16, 2022
"It was scary because we saw the water pouring in and we weren't sure if we were going to make it out," Lauren Bain told France 24.
Another netizen who posted a video of a biker riding through deep water joked that Paris is lovely in August as people can go jet skiing.
Paris au mois d'août c'est sympa on peut même y faire du jet ski ! #Paris #orage #orageparis pic.twitter.com/QUhUBgbTtU
— Cécile (@cecile433) August 16, 2022
In some places, the thunderstorm had uprooted several trees.
🔴 DIRECT - #Paris : Des dégâts dans la capitale en raison de la #pluie et du vent.
— FLASH INFO Ile-de-France (@info_Paris_IDF) August 16, 2022
👉 Ici dans le 15e arrondissement, quelques #branches d’arbres sont tombées au sol. (🎥 Témoin) #Orages pic.twitter.com/Ifbb8pxvV7
Storm and rains also hit Paris Disneyland. Talk about getting rained on during your Disney moment!
[LIVE] Un violent orage s'abat sur Disneyland Paris. 🌩🌧 #orages pic.twitter.com/7g8PpfvtGC
— Un Twittos (@anthonyrcsc05) August 16, 2022
France 24 reported that the meteorological station on the Eiffel Tower recorded wind speeds of up to 104 km/hour. Water in River Seine also rose by 35 cm due to heavy rainfall.
The sky is raging over France! rainstorms and floods hit Paris pic.twitter.com/yvmjdybxi3
— #كابتن_غازي_عبداللطيف (@CaptainGhazi) August 16, 2022
But the torrential monsoon season isn't over for France. Meteo France predicts storms in southern France later this week.
#FORTESPLUIES ⛈ adoptez les bons comportements et n'encombrez pas inutilement les lignes d'urgences✅ pic.twitter.com/n9g8FdW4u6
— @PompiersParis (@PompiersParis) August 16, 2022
The Paris fire service advised residents to stay indoors at this time, avoid any basement areas, unplug electrical appliances, venture out in a vehicle only in emergencies and avoid submerged roads and roads near streams.