Paris remains on high alert as the swollen river Seine continues to rise, with forecasters saying water levels could stay high next week, especially if France has more rain.
Leaks started to appear in some basements on Friday, while some residents on the city’s outskirts were forced to travel by boat through waterlogged streets.
The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Orangerie museums were on high alert, with the lower level of the Louvre’s Islamic arts wing closed to visitors.
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A health centre in the north-western suburbs, where 86 patients were receiving care, had to be evacuated on Friday. Across the Paris region, more than 650 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to police.
The Vigicrues flooding agency reduced its peak predictions for the river in the capital, saying it would top out at 5.8-6 metres (19-20ft) between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, compared with 6.2 metres previously.
However, that would still bring the Seine 4-5 metres above its normal height, causing problems for commuters and people living near its banks.
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}Joao de Macedo, a janitor at a residential building in Paris’s upscale 16th arrondissement, said: “There are six studios in the basement, and we’ve had to set up blocks outside to keep the windows from breaking and covering everything in water.â€
The December-January period is now the third wettest since data collection began in 1900, according to France’s meteorological service.
All boat traffic on the Seine in Paris and upstream has been stopped, including sightseeing boats.
Forecasters said the rainfall in recent days had not been enough to push the Seine beyond their expectations.
“We’ve been reassured, [the rain] will keep the water level high but not increase it,†said François Duquesne, of Vigicrues, though he warned of the risk of more rain next week.
A main commuter line, the RER C, has halted services at Paris stops, and some key roads alongside the Seine have been closed.
Source:theguardian.com