The Flooding in Germany and France
Nearly a week of rain in parts of Europe has caused towns to evacuate, rivers to rise to near-historic levels, and the Louvre and other attractions to close.
Nearly a week of torrential rain has flooded parts of Germany and France, causing deaths, towns to evacuate, and the Louvre in Paris to move artwork to upper levels of the museum.
The Seine, which flows past the Louvre, had risen Friday 14 feet above its typical level, threatening to overflow its banks. Officials in Paris warned people to stay away from the river, and ordered the city’s commuter train system to shut down.
The Louvre was also closed Friday, so workers could remove artwork and artifacts from storage underground to safer areas upstairs.
#CrueSeine > Les #inondations à #Paris vues depuis l'hélicoptère @itelehttps://t.co/oujApiXXZJ
— iTELE (@itele) June 3, 2016
About 50 miles south of Paris, people evacuated the town of Nemours, because the Loing, a river that feeds into the Seine, had risen to dangerously high levels not seen since 1910, the BBC reported. About 3,000 people had to leave the town.
In Germany, at least nine people have died. Among them were two people who were sucked into a drain pipe and three members of a family who drowned in their flooded basement. Many others are missing.
'The help we get is overwhelming' says Bruno Weidenthaler while cleaning his house from a huge layer of mud @dwnews pic.twitter.com/mxjA9NsPKy
— Birgitta Schülke (@BirSchuelke) June 3, 2016
The storms are expected to last through the weekend. But forecasters told Deutsche Welle they cautiously expect drier weather early next week.