France Declares Flood Emergency As Death Toll Rises

Paris: Torrential rain and flooding have killed at least 14 people in parts of Europe, with France declaring a natural disaster after the River Seine in Paris burst its banks in some places displacing thousands of people. 

French President Francois Hollande made the announcement on Friday, saying compensation would be paid to those affected by the worst flooding to hit the French capital in 35 years. “When there are climate phenomena of such seriousness, we must all be conscious that it's on a world scale and that we must act,” Hollande said.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has ordered some parks to close, and gymnasiums to open to homeless people amid the flooding, which city authorities said could take weeks to recede.

The French interior ministry said the homes of some 20,000 people have been evacuated. Another 20,000 homes in the south of Paris have lost power. 

The flooding has also forced many museums in the French capital, including the Louvre, to shut down, as a protective measure. The Louvre and Orsay museums in Paris moved scores of artworks and precious artefacts to safety and soldiers evacuated residents trapped in some of the French capital’s suburbs as the rain-swollen river Seine hit its highest level in 30 years.

Environment Minister Segolene Royal said the Seine had breached 6 metres (19 feet) in central Paris, submerging riverside roads, swamping small businesses on quaysides and forcing the closure of an underground commuter line.

The worst affected areas lay just to the south of the capital. In Villeneuve-Saint-Georges near Orly airport, soldiers and Red Cross volunteers helped stranded residents as flood waters rose above knee level. In nearby Corbeil-Essonnes, locals kayaked along streets littered with abandoned cars.