Photo of the Week - June 15, 2012

I took this photograph minutes before yet another rainfall erupted over Paris. The smoke-like clouds were framing the rear view of l’École Militaire and la Tour Eiffel so well that I couldn't resist taking out my camera. Spring has proved to be a rainy season this year in Paris, making un parapluie (an umbrella) an essential item at all times. Luckily, grey skies and showers are nothing compared to the 1910 Great Flood of Paris, a catastrophic city-wide inundation that caused the Seine's water level to rise to 28.28 feet (20 feet over it's normal level). Although the flood, which lasted about a week, caused 400 million francs in damages (or 1.5 billion modern US dollars), miraculously there were no deaths since the water rose slowly over time.

photo © Rachael Woodson

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