The riverside Grand Palais exhibition hall in Paris has reopened as flood waters slowly receded from the French capital.
The Louvre Museum, several Paris train stations and roads remained closed after the worst floods in three decades caused the Seine river to burst its banks. Quayside restaurants were partially flooded and tourist boats were unable to pass under bridges.
The glass-topped Grand Palais, built for the 1900 World’s Fair and currently hosting an exhibit by avant-garde Chinese artist Huang Yong Ping among several others, opened again after closing on Friday because of flood risks.
Elsewhere, emergency crews were pumping water out of a key Paris road interchange and evacuating cars trapped for days on a road south of the capital.
After a week of exceptionally heavy rains around Europe, at least 18 people have been killed in flooding in Germany, France, Romania and Belgium. New thunderstorms were forecast for eastern France yesterday, and more than 11,000 French homes are still without electricity.
Peak level
The Seine river level peaked Saturday in Paris, and the national flood service said it would remain about four metres (more than 13 feet) above normal yesterday. Authorities warn it will take up to 10 days for the river to return to normal.
The flood risks along the Seine are moving downstream after forcing thousands out of their homes and houseboats earlier this week. West of Paris, it overflowed around the medieval city of Rouen overnight, but the local administration said yesterday that the damage was “localised and limited” and severe flood warnings for the area were lifted.
Authorities in western Germany yesterday cancelled one of the country’s most popular open-air rock festivals because of a storm warning.
Organisers of Rock am Ring said yesterday that they accepted the decision “out of responsibility for the welfare” of the 90,000 festival-goers.
Scores of people were injured at the site near Mendig, 100km (62 miles) west of Frankfurt, when lightning and heavy rain struck the festival late on Friday. The German Red Cross said 72 people were taken to hospital.
The festival was suspended after the incident but briefly reopened Saturday night, before the final decision to close it yesterday. – PA