The world's biggest museum in Paris is to close tomorrow, June 3rd, to evacuate artworks held in its underground reserves after days of heavy rain in France.
The Louvre, home to great artworks like the Mona Lisa, is located along the banks of the river Seine.
France 24 reports that the Seine - the river flowing through the French capital - swelled to more than five metres above its usual levels today, and burst its banks in places.
The seine is so high! #flooding #paris pic.twitter.com/SvsAuJEdPY
— Katie Findlay (@katie_finDlAy) June 1, 2016
The Musee d'Orsay, which holds the world’s greatest collection of Impressionist artwork, sits across the river from the Louvre.
It closed early today to implement its own flood protection plan.
Severe flooding across France over the past few days has also forced parts of its Metro network to shut down.
Authorities say waters are at levels not seen since 1910, but The Local's Oliver Gee tweeted a picture to show the level of the Seine is still very far from the flood of the century.
Flood water at the Seine still VERY far from the level of the 1910 flood of the century (see the line on the right). pic.twitter.com/vTnXdqIuuA
— Oliver Gee (@olivergee23) June 2, 2016
Storms and torrential rain have also caused chaos in parts of Germany with reports of eight people dead as a result of flash floods.