As floodwaters from the River Seine creeped towards homes in Elbeuf, in Seine-Maritime, west of Paris, on Wednesday, January 31, angler Etienne Branchu decided to cast his line out from a balcony into a submerged garden.

The river had swelled in Paris to more than four meters above its normal level on Monday, reports said. Reports on Wednesday said areas in Seine-Maritime, where this video was shot, were on orange alert, and that the river had burst its banks in both Elbeuf and nearby Rouen.

Water levels were expected to rise again into Thursday. Credit: Etienne Branchu via Storyful