简体中文
Paris was bracing Saturday for further flooding as the Seine river continued to rise after heavy rains, threatening some of the French capital’s most famous museums and closing roads and waterways, while also bringing the city’s rat problem to the surface.
The Seine was expected to reach a peak of 5.8-6.0 meters over the weekend – four or five meters above the norm – France’s flooding agency Vigicrues said Friday. This was revised down from a previous forecast of 6.2 meters.
In central Paris, the river had not burst its banks but low-lying roads running alongside the Seine were under water.
The city’s many bridges, usually tall enough for boats to pass underneath, now stood just a couple of meters above the water. Videos on Friday also showed the tip of Ile de la Cite – the island in the middle of the Seine on which Notre-Dame cathedral stands – completely submerged beyond the famous Pont Neuf bridge.
This file photo taken on December 15, 2016 shows a rat standing behind a gate at the square of the Saint Jacques tower close to the rue de Rivoli, in Paris. /VCG Photo
Water traffic in Paris and upstream was at a standstill. A local RER train line has suspended service until Wednesday.
The Louvre museum has meanwhile closed a low-level Islamic arts wing to visitors, and along with the nearby Musee d’Orsay and Orangerie museum, remain on high alert, AFP news agency reported.
But perhaps more disturbingly, experts warned that flooding could bring Paris’s large rat population out into the streets. The French capital has about four million such rodents, but they usually remain out of sight.
While water levels remained manageable in Paris, the situation was more dire on the outskirts, with the Seine breaking its banks in some places, leaving residents to move around by boat.
A few hundred people have had to evacuate their homes over the past few days, while about 1,000 have found themselves without electricity.
Weather service Meteo France said December and January were the third wettest period on record since 1900.
For now water levels were expected to stabilize but more rain could fall next week, Vigicrues warned.
(CGTN)
