"In Paris, many people believe they are spared because they live far from the Seine, or on high ground. "However, an exceptional flood like the one in 1910 can affect all neighbourhoods, through a cascading effect," Bénédicte Cadalen, a representative from the city's crisis management department, told the French press. If a similar disaster were to take place now, it could affect up to 700,000 people across the city, including those who do not live directly along the river - flooding cellars, halting transport and causing power outages and mass evacuations.