Skip to content
Share

The Louvre Museum in Paris has been shut as flooding threatens valuable artworks

The Louvre Museum in Paris has been shut as flooding threatens valuable artworks

Paris has been very badly affected by flooding recently, with the River Seine rising to alarming levels.

Both The Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay have been closed in order to facilitate the movement of priceless artworks to safer, higher up levels of the buildings.

The Independent report that the staff of both museums are rushing to rescue valuable items from the underground storage areas in time before any damage occurs.

Northern France is experiencing some of the worst flooding in recent memory with the Seine rising above its preliminary level of 5 metres on Thursday afternoon.

Commercial barges and tourist boats have been banned from passing through Paris due to the dangerous weather conditions.

The flood alert level in Paris is at yellow and is expected to be upgraded to orange shortly.

Both museums held drills this year to deal with floods.

President Francois Hollande has declared the flooding ‘a natural catastrophe’.

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 02: Water rises by night near the area of the Eiffel Tower as the Seine river's embankments overflow after four days of heavy rain on June 2, 2016 in Paris, France. Northern France is experiencing wet weather causing flooding in parts of France especially in Paris. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 02: The Quai restaurant is closed due to the floads of the River Seine on June 2, 2016 in Paris, France. Northern France is experiencing wet weather causing flooding in parts of France especially in Paris. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

related.