Mount Saint Michel, France- Thousands have gathered in France to stand as a witness to the ‘Tide of the Century’. The high tide will be caused due to a combination of factors such as the super moon Saturday and this week’s solar eclipse. Mount Saint Michel will be cut off from the mainlands. This will be the first giant tide of this year. The last such giant tide happened on March 10th 1997.
Though it’s dubbed to be the tide of the century, such giant tides are witnessed by Mount Saint Michel every 18 years. The next high tide will not be due until 2033. A record breaking crowd, whose number could easily cross 10,000 have gathered to witness the incident. These tourists were mostly Belgians, but tourists from Germany, Japan etc. as well had come to see the giant tides.
However, the effects of the tide are not solitary on France. The super tide should also be imparting effects in Tierra del Fuego, which is also cut off from the South American mainland, the Briston Channel of Britain and also the northern coast of Australia as well.
Earlier on Saturday night at the Mount Saint Michel, a tide which peaked more than 14 metres (record high) was witnessed. It scored 119 out of the maximum limit of 120. Reports of a death caused due to this super tide have also been received. A giant tide as high as four storey building swept up an estuary and gave birth to the news of two drowning incident. Also, about 15 people had to be rescued in the Brittany region after being trapped by the afternoon tides.
However, the super tides are not the largest tides witnessed on Earth. Such tides occur at the Bay of Fundy and the Ungava Bay in Canada, where the tides could reach a maximum height of 17 meter.