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

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.

View of the closed Thames Barrier at high tide today pic.twitter.com/LHIImaBvSE

— On The Thames (@ThamesPics) March 21, 2015

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

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

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

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