Rain pummels France; Seine River overflows Paris embankments
A car is half-submerged on a flooded road caused by heavy rain in Bruay La Buissieres, northern France, on May 31. Rescue workers have evacuated homes or ordered people to higher floors in the Pas-de-Calais region in the north as rivers rose more than a meter (3 feet, 4 inches) in some spots, according to the local administration. AP
PARIS—The Seine River has overflowed embankments in Paris as floods hit or threaten cities and towns around France.
Paris City Hall closed roads along the shore of the Seine from the southwest edge of the city to the neighborhood around the Eiffel Tower as the water level has risen 4.3 meters (14 feet 1 inches) higher than usual.
City authorities are warning residents and visitors to be vigilant Wednesday around the river banks, and said high river levels are expected to last through Friday.
Heavy rain has caused delays at the French Open, forced the evacuation of two prisons and prompted thousands of rescue operations from the Belgian border south to Burgundy.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve urged people to exercise the “greatest caution.”
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