Louvre shut, thousands evacuated as France declares flood emergency

The world's most visited museum, the Louvre in Paris, will remain closed on Friday as the River Seine surged to its highest level for over 30 years in the French capital following torrential rainfall.

The heavy rainfall has resulted in about 25,000 people living without power in Paris and central France. French President Francois Hollande on Thursday declared the region around Paris a natural disaster area.

Paris police upgraded their flood warning to "orange" -- the second-highest level -- for areas in the French capital near the Seine, which has already overflowed its banks in many places. The warning means floods could have "a significant impact" on buildings and people.

The Seine could peak at six meters in Paris on Friday, officials said, stressing that this was still well below the level where it would pose danger to residents. The river reached a record high of 8.6 meters in 1910, when thousands of Parisians had to flee flooded low-lying areas of the city.

Besides the Louvre, the Orsay museum of Impressionist art will also be shut on Friday. Both are located right by the Seine in central Paris.

At the Louvre museum, the staff is ready to move pieces of art displayed in its basement and first floors within 72 hours of a flood warning, the New York Times reported.

Not all of the museum's assets can be swiftly relocated. Some works inside the Louvre’s massive storage unit would be left behind, The NYT quoted museum spokeswoman Sophie Grange as saying. In addition, heavy statues like the Assyrian winged bulls are too big to move, she said. The museum plans to wrap the stone figures in plastic sheets to insulate against potential floodwaters, she said.

Restaurants along the banks were forced to close while the transport authorities closed a section of RER line C and several stations, meaning more misery for strike hit commuters.

Twenty kilometres to the south of Paris, the river Yvette burst its banks, flooding Longjumeau to knee depth. In Nemours, further south still, boat rescues were necessary as the River Loing rose well above flood level.

"In 60 years of living here I have never seen this," Sylvette Gounaud, a shopworker in Nemours said. "The centre of town is totally under water, all the shops are destroyed."

At least 3,000 out of 13,000 inhabitants were evacuated in Nemours, 75 km (45 miles) south of Paris, as floodwaters crept towards the second story of buildings in the town centre.

Gwen Bonpaix, 18, who lives in Montcourt Fromonville, 5 km from Nemours, told the BBC part of the village was flooded.

"The electricity doesn't work, and we can't use our toilet because the sewers are also getting flooded," she said.

"My home hasn't been flooded yet, but the water has already reached the garden, and it's still raining. We're going to leave before we get stuck here."