Death toll in France rises to 4 as flooding peaks in Paris

Paris: The death toll from the flooding in France has risen to four, officials said today, as the water level of the Seine river in Paris slowly started to decrease after reaching its peak overnight.

But authorities warned it could take up to ten days for the river to return to normal after swelling to its highest level in nearly 35 years, about 4.5 meters above average.

The death toll from the flooding across the country has risen to four while 24 people have been injured, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after a meeting at a government crisis centre today.

He didn't give any more details about the additional death, which brings the total death toll across Europe from the flooding in recent days to 17.

Valls said the water level of the Seine is now decreasing "slowly but steadily" in Paris and that several ministerial meetings will be held next week to ensure quick financial help to the people affected.

He also urged Paris visitors and residents to "take care to observe safety precautions" since many have been walking along the river banks to observe the rare phenomena.

Nearly a week of heavy rain led to serious flooding across parts of France, Germany, Romania and Belgium.

French energy company Enedis said over 17,000 homes were still without electricity Saturday in the Paris region and central France.

Authorities have shut the Louvre museum, the national library, the Orsay museum and the Grand Palais, Paris' striking glass-and-steel topped exhibition center.

The Louvre, home to Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," said it won't reopen until Wednesday. Curators were scrambling to move some 250,000 artworks from basement storage areas at risk of flooding to safer areas upstairs.

The Orsay Museum, known for its impressionist art, closed through the weekend.

Several railway and subway stations shut down in Paris city center and drivers experienced traffic problems in and around the French capital because of flooded roads.

Valls said authorities have "no major concern" any more regarding other rail and subway services, yet boats and barges docked in the capital were being carefully watched to ensure none would cast off their moorings.

Nicolas Hainsohn, resident of a boathouse on the Seine, said the situation was exceptional but added that "it's just water."

"We are used to this. We've seen it once or twice," he told The Associated Press. "It's tricky to dock, because you need to follow the water flow, you have to be careful, otherwise you can hit the river bank."

France's meteorological service said today that high flood alerts remained in effect in 14 regions, mostly in central and western France, including Paris.

Although the rain has tapered off in some areas, possible floods were expected over the weekend downstream along the Seine river, in the region of Normandy.