Hundreds of Parisians were evacuated from their homes as the river Seine which runs through the French capital showed no sign of retreating. The river banks are now threatening even the Louvre museum as Paris prepares for more rain over the weekend.
Following days of heavy rains, the river, which had already burst its banks on Tuesday, measured 18ft high just before the weekend near the Austerlitz bridge.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Parts of France received more than 7 inches (180 mm) of rain this week, causing the Seine to flood its banks near Paris. <a href="https://twitter.com/NASARain?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASARain</a> caught all the action. <a href="https://t.co/eqein9kvd6">https://t.co/eqein9kvd6</a> <a href="https://t.co/CMePlD8BiQ">pic.twitter.com/CMePlD8BiQ</a></p>— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAGoddard/status/956972057488691200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Tunnels and roads in the city centre were closed, and people had to be evacuated by boat.
The Louvre museum, which houses one of the most prestigious art collections in the world, has already started moving some 35,000 pieces of art as it undergoes the same procedures as during the 2016 floods. In a statement, it noted that “a large number of reserve collections has been packed to ensure their rapid evacuation in the event of flooding, and staff have also been trained."
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrueSeine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CrueSeine</a> à Paris : les images vues du ciel filmées par les services de la <a href="https://twitter.com/prefpolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@prefpolice</a> à l'aide d'un drone <a href="https://t.co/q5N9j8PPbN">pic.twitter.com/q5N9j8PPbN</a></p>— Préfecture de police (@prefpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/prefpolice/status/956931690978594817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Parisians living near the river are fearful that soon their houses will become inundated.
Mr. Joao De Macedo, who manages a building on the right bank of the Seine, commented: "The first residents left three days ago and yesterday or the day before. Everybody was gone here. They put everything up on concrete blocks."
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