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Paris floods: River Seine continues to rise as Louvre museum closed 'for precautionary reasons' Paris floods: River Seine continues to rise as Louvre museum closed 'for precautionary reasons'
(35 minutes later)
Paris is waiting anxiously as a swollen river Seine rises towards the point where it might flood the city and cause widespread disruption. An angry-looking river Seine has risen to its highest level for decades in Paris, forcing the closure of metro stations, museums and libraries.
The river – now a menacingly broad band of fast-flowing muddy water – is expected to peak at a relatively safe height of 6.2 metres this evening. Town hall officials admitted, however, that they had consistently underestimated the speed and extent of the river's rise over the last three days.  The usually placid river turned into a broad, fast-flowing torrent of muddy water on Friday, but was forecast to peak just short of the level which would flood streets and the underground railway system.
One riverside Métro station, Saint-Michel, near Notre-Dame Cathedral, was closed this morning when water started to leak through the walls.  Town hall officials admitted, however, that they had consistently underestimated the speed and extent of the rise of the river over the last three days.
If the river rises above the 6.5 metre mark, after a week of torrential rain in northern France, other riverside buildings and streets could be threatened. In 1910, when large parts of the French capital were flooded for six weeks, the river Seine reached a height of 8.6 metres. Two Metro stations close to the river bank were closed after  water started to leak though the walls. The Louvre and Orsay art museums, the Grand Palais exhibition hall and two sites of the national library were closed protectively.
Two of the world’s greatest art museums, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, standing on either side of the bank of the river in central Paris, were closed "for precautionary reasons" today. Around 250,000 "reserve" works of art and historic objects in the Louvre’s underground store rooms were being hastily moved to the upper floors. Severe flooding in the western suburbs of the French capital is feared on Saturday after a several days of torrential rain in northern and central France. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, warned after a crisis meeting that the Seine might remain dangerously swollen for more than a week but played down the possibility of serious flooding in the city itself. Days of heavy rain have led to a swathe of flooing across Europe leading to a number of deaths.
Around 30,000 artworks on the ground floor and in the basement of the Musée d’Orsay were also being relocated. Museum officials said there was no reason to believe that the Seine would be severely affected, but that the stored works were being moved just in case. The Euro 2016 international football tournament begins in Paris next Friday. Temporary buildings constructed beside the Seine near the Eiffel Tower to host events connected to the tournament were under a metre of water yesterday.
The environment ministry predicted that the Seine would peak at 6.5 metres during the night – its highest level since 1951. Earlier in the day, officials had predicted a peak of 6 metres and then 6.2 metres.
A 6.5 metre flood level is just below the point when water might start to cascade into streets and the Metro system.  In 1910, when large parts of the French capital were flooded for six weeks, the river Seine reached a height of 8.6 metres.
The Paris town hall admitted that the speed in the rise of the Seine had defied official forecasts. “We have been taken by surprise,” said Matthieu Clouzeau, the city’s director of prevention and protection. “The rise in water levels has been twice as fast as our planning models anticipated, based on statistics from 1910.”
The usually quiet river charged between its masonry banks yesterday carrying large pieces of wood and other debris from the serious flooding upstream. In many places the water almost filled the arches of the city’s bridges. Barges moored by the lower quays to house cafés and restaurants were cut off in the middle of the swollen river. Beside a barge-restaurant near the national assembly, a sign advertising “menu and wine list” jutted from the water at a crazy angle.
Two of the world’s greatest art museums, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, standing on either bank of the river in central Paris, were closed “for precautionary reasons”. Around 250,000 “reserve” works of art and historic objects in the Louvre’s underground store-rooms were hastily moved to the upper floors.
Around 30,000 art works on the ground floor and in the basement of the Musée d’Orsay were also being moved. Museum officials said there was no reason to believe that the Seine would come visiting but the stored works were being moved just in case.
 
It will take from three to four days to clear the underground reserves to upper floors usually open to the public. The Mona Lisa, on the first floor of the Louvre, will not get her feet wet but she might have some unusual companions over the next few days.It will take from three to four days to clear the underground reserves to upper floors usually open to the public. The Mona Lisa, on the first floor of the Louvre, will not get her feet wet but she might have some unusual companions over the next few days.
By this afternoon the Seine had reached the 6 metre mark, regarded as the first alert level. The usually quiet river was charging between its masonry banks, carrying large pieces of wood and other debris from the serious flooding upstream. In places the water almost filled the arches of the city’s beautiful bridges. The severe flooding of towns and roads to the east and south of Paris claimed a new victim overnight. A 74 years old man fell from his horse while fording floodwater at Evry-Gregy-sur-Yerre, southeast of Paris.
Barges permanently moored by the lower quays to house cafes and restaurants were cut off in the middle of a swollen river. At one place, a sign advertising "menu and wine list" protruded from the water at a crazy angle. His body was recovered later. His  horse made its own way to safety. An elderly woman and a  toddler have died in other incidents in recent days.  Rainfall in the month of May has been two and a half times its normal level.
The severe flooding of towns and roads to the east and south of Paris claimed a new victim overnight. A 74-year-old man fell from his horse while fording floodwater at Evry-Gregy-sur-Yerre, southeast of Paris. Elsewhere in Europe, authorities were counting the cost of the floods. German authorities said the body of a 65-year-old man was found overnight in the town of Simbach am Inn, bringing the country's death toll over recent days to 10. In Belgium, rescue workers found the body of a beekeeper who was swept away by rising waters while trying to protect his hives in the village of Harsin. 
His body was recovered later. His horse made its own way to safety. An elderly woman and a toddler have also died in other incidents in recent days. In eastern Romania, two people died and 200 people were evacuated from their homes as floods swept the area. 
The Paris town hall has admitted that the speed in the rise of the Seine had defied official forecasts. "We have been taken by surprise," said Matthieu Clouzeau, the city’s director of prevention and protection. "The rise in water levels has been twice as fast as our planning models anticipated, based on statistics from 1910."
"Then the river rose by 50 centimetres a day. Between Tuesday midnight and Thursday midnight, the Seine rose by two metres."
Hydrologists are still predicting confidently, however, that the level of the river will peak by tonight at around six metres. For the water to start spilling over the high Seine quays and flooding streets and the Metro system, it has to reach around 7 metres.
Existing flooding, mostly of the lower quays and riverside roads, has already disrupted planning for the Euro 2016 football championships which start in Paris in a week. A dozen "bungalows" built on the riverside near the Eiffel Tower to house events linked to the championship have been inundated and seriously damaged.