Supertide caused by solar eclipse turns Mont Saint-Michel into an island

THOUSANDS of people have flocked to France as the ‘tide of the century’ transformed a mountain into an island. See the incredible photos here.

THIRTY thousand people flocked to Mont Saint-Michel on Saturday to see the “tide of the century” surround the picturesque French landmark as millions viewed a solar eclipse across Europe.

A record-breaking crowd gathered at the rocky island topped with a Gothic Benedictine abbey to watch the sea surge up the bay on the Normandy coast, which is exposed to some of Europe’s strongest tides.

Water up to four storeys high surrounded the mountain. Picture: AFP PHOTO / GUILLAUME SOUVANT.

People wait watching for the wave named ‘Mascaret’ in front of the abbey church on the top of the Mont-Saint-Michel, on March 21. Pic: AFP/Guillaume Souvant

But as a wall of water as high as a four-storey building swept up the estuary, the festive atmosphere was tempered by news of two drownings.

The deaths of a 70-year-old fisherman swept away in the Gironde region of south-western France, and of another man who was collecting shellfish off the Ile Grande further north, were not directly linked to the so-called supertide. However 15 people had to be rescued in the Brittany region alone after becoming trapped by afternoon tides.

The massive tidal surge, which peaked at a record high of more than 14 metres (46 feet), was driven by the effects of the solar eclipse on Friday.

Spectators packed a near-kilometre-long footbridge that links the UNESCO World Heritage Site with the mainland while others watched from the crowded ramparts of the granite islet, which is visited by three million people a year.

The so-called ‘tide of the century’ actually happens once every 18 years. Picture: AP.

People flock to ‘Mascaret’ in front of the abbey church on the top of the Mont-Saint-Michel, on March 21. Pic: AFP/Guillaume Souvant

DANGER WARNING

Officials at France’s Navy Oceanic and Hydrological Service (SHOM) had warned that the high tide on Saturday, which peaked just after 2000 GMT, would pose a danger to people venturing out too far.

But even before dawn, tourists from France and the world over — Japanese, Germans and Belgians in particular — were taking up their places to watch the spectacle.

Some 10,000 people had already turned up at Mont Saint-Michel on Friday evening — where as the saying goes, the sea rises “at the speed of a galloping horse” -- only for the tide not to reach predicted levels.

An aerial view of the famous mountain, which thousands flocked to see. Picture: AFP PHOTO / DAMIEN MEYER

An aerial view as a high tide submerges a narrow causeway leading to the Mont Saint-Michel, on France's northern coast. Pic: AP.

SPECTACULAR PHENOMENON

The spectacular phenomenon is also happening in other parts of the globe, with Canada’s Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic Coast expected to see a tidal surge of 16 metres.

The “supertide” will also be felt in Tierra del Fuego off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, the northern coast of Australia and the Bristol Channel in Britain.

Meanwhile, surfers gathered on the River Severn to take advantage of a strong tidal surge on the estuary, which last occured in March 1997.

Children walk along the seawall in Ile-Tudy on Combrit, western France during high tide. The exceptionally high spring tide has been swollen by a "supermoon" effect linked to the solar eclipse on March 20. Picture: AFP/FRED TANNEAU

The tide affected the North Sea, the English Channel and to a lesser extent in the Mediterranean but it was particularly strong on France’s northern coast, where it was 14.15 metres difference between high and low tide. Picture: AFP PHOTO / DAMIEN MEYER

MILLIONS VIEW ECLIPSE

The surge, known as the Servern Bore, comes as millions of people across Europe turned out to view an eclipse which briefly darkened the sky, using everything from sun visors to welder’s masks to see the cosmic phenomenon.

While the best spot to view the rare total eclipse was in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, possibly the worst was in murky and damp London.

But that didn’t stop schoolchildren wearing protective glasses from looking up at the thick cloud cover over the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. A dog owner even put eyewear on their dog in London’s Regent’s Park.

See more incredible pictures below:

The solar eclipse captured by ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 minisatellite. Picture: AFP.

A man watches the eclipse from the south-western Pyrenees mountains. Picture: AFP PHOTO / LAURENT DARD

The high tide at Mont Saint Michel in France was linked to the solar event. AFP PHOTO / GUILLAUME SOUVANT.

Men watch from St Petersburg. Picture: AFP PHOTO / OLGA MALTSEVA

Performers at a shrine in Portugal. Picture: FRANCISCO LEONG.

Students watch the eclipse from a museum in Vienna. Picture: AFP. JOE KLAMAR