Museums including Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay are preparing for the worst situation

The rain-swollen River Seine in Paris reached its highest level in three decades on Friday, spilling its banks and prompting the Louvre museum to shut its doors and evacuate artworks in its basement.

Parisians were urged to avoid the banks of the river which was expected to reach a peak of six meters on Friday, while deadly floods continued to wreak havoc elsewhere in France and Germany.