Floodwaters crest on the Seine River in Paris
Flood concerns have prompted Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to urge residents to stay on high alert as the Seine River swelled up to 20 feet along its banks.
After floodwaters rose in Paris on Saturday, the Seine River crested on Sunday and is expected to slowly recede through the early week.
The Seine River at Paris crested at 5.86 meters (19.23 feet) last Monday. The river then steadily fell, dropping under 5.35 meters (17.55 feet) by Friday morning.
Runoff from the soaking rain that spread across northern France at midweek, however, caused the river to rise once again.
A man uses a dinghy boat in a flooded street of the island of Vaux, west of Paris, on Tuesday, 2018 January 30. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
On Sunday, the river level in Paris crested for a second time at 5.49 meters (18 feet).
The Seine typically flows at a level of 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) through Paris.
A woman walks in a flooded street of Villennes sur Seine, west of Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
In total, flooding across France has caused damage in 242 towns along the Seine and its tributaries in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.
The flooding is following the wettest December and January period in 50 years, according to Meteo France.
Rainfall in January across the country was more than double the normal amount with some locations recording more than three times their normal monthly rainfall before the end of the month.
A flooded playground along the Seine river in Paris, France, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The flooding has inundated roads, railways and walking paths in Paris along the river.
Residents and tourists should prepare for further disruptions to river cruises and other transportation services along the Seine.
In advance of the flooding, the Louvre closed the lower level of the Department of Arts of the Islam from last Wednesday, Jan. 24, through Monday, Jan. 29.
A woman uses a dinghy boat to carry children in a flooded street of Villennes sur Seine, west of Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Last Monday's crest of 5.86 meters (19.23 feet) fell just short of levels recorded during the June 2016 flooding.
During the June 2016 flood, a crest of 6.1 meters (20 feet) was recorded and the entire Louvre Museum was closed for four days. The river's all-time highest crest is 8.62 meters (28.3 feet) from Jan. 28, 1910.
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