http://www.boston.com/dailynews/098/world/Flooding_worsens_in_northern_F:.shtml

Flooding worsens in northern France By Associated Press, 4/8/2001 12:27 AMIENS, France (AP) Floodwaters have inundated more than 50 districts in northern France, forcing families to evacuate nearly 300 homes and leaving others without electricity, local officials said Sunday.

Up to 1,200 houses were flooded by the rise of the Somme River, with 280 homes evacuated. Families were transferred to schools and other public facilities or private homes, according to the local prefecture.

''The situation is becoming unmanageable'' in Amiens, the regional capital, according to police.

The train station in Abbeville, about 20 miles from the English Channel, was flooded and train traffic interrupted. Some 300 homes in Abbeville were inundated, the prefecture said.

The flooding that started Friday after severe rains has been aggravated by high tides caused by the vernal equinox, which ends Tuesday. Officials said they feared the situation would worsen before returning to normal.

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001