Paris: Paris was on flood alert on Wednesday, with the Seine bursting its banks and swamping riverside highways after four days of nearly non-stop rain caused severe flooding in the central Loire Valley area and southeast of the French capital.
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The Louvre museum in Paris said it would close on Friday (Jun 3) to evacuate artworks held in its underground reserves as the swollen River Seine burst its banks in places after days of torrential rain.
Authorities in Paris closed some roads along the Left Bank as the Seine River rose 14 feet higher than usual.
Jordan Muller, a 25-year-old from Seattle who is living in Paris, jogged along the quay despite slippery cobblestones.
Authorities on Thursday shut down a suburban train line that runs alongside the Seine in central Paris, serving popular tourist sites like the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides plaza and the Orsay museum. Got to the stairs and they are underwater. “I have to find a new running route today”, she said.
Unusually heavy rain in recent days across France has caused exceptional delays at the French Open and forced the evacuation of two prisons.
In France, emergency workers conducted up to 8,000 rescue operations in areas where a full six weeks of rain fell in 24 hours.
President Francois Hollande expressed his support for flood victims during a Cabinet meeting, while Cazeneuve said the government is working to protect flood victims and pledged to pay for rescue and cleanup efforts.
The French Prime Minister and his interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the town of Nemours – 80 km to the south of Paris, on Thursday which was pretty much under water with the town centre having been completely evacuated.
Several hundred pupils at schools in Simbach am Inn and the nearby town of Triftern were rescued after being trapped.
One of the towns particularly affected by the flooding on Tuesday was Bruay-la-Buissiere, near Lens, where firefighters patrolled the streets in a dinghy.
In Paris, the rain eased Wednesday but more showers were expected in the evening and through Thursday.
The Louvre will be closed to the public Friday, the museum tweeted. “We were here last night and had some drinks on the terrace”.
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Dogs, too, are enjoying the unusual weather, splashing happily in shallow pools on what used to be roads.
