Seine plateaus but 12 departments still on flood alert
Water levels in Paris have remained steady since late on Sunday evening
The Seine in Paris appears to have reached a plateau, authorities have said - but 12 departments remain on orange alert for river flooding.
Floods monitor Vigicrues said that water levels in the Seine have remained steady at 5.84m at the official measuring point on Pont d'Austerlitz since just after 11.20pm on Sunday. It had briefly reached 5.86m earlier the same evening.
A Vigicrues spokesperson said that the river was expected to remain at about the same level throughout Monday before starting to recede on Tuesday. But they warned that it will take more than a week for the river to reach 'classic levels' for the season.
Further rain is expected midweek, coupled with the arrival of the 'flood wave' from the Marne, which will keep levels high, the spokesperson said.
A total 1,500 people in Ile-de-France were evacuated from their homes on Sunday, while a further 1,500 households in the eastern part of the region were without power early on Monday.
Eleven departments - Saône-et-Loire, Aube, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Yvelines, Val-d' Oise, Eure - have been kept on orange alert for river floods. Meanwhile, the Seine-Maritime was added early on Monday, with floodwaters from Paris heading downstream, coupled with strong incoming tides forecast over the next few days blocking the flow of water into the sea.
Elsewhere, Vigicrues says the Saône flood peak has been reached at Chalon-sur-Saône, and water levels are now slowly falling, but water levels along the downstream Seine are expected to continue rising until midweek.
Four reservoir lakes along the Marne, Seine, Aube and Yonne are already reportedly full beyond capacity, while further rainfall as the week progresses is expected to slow the the fall in river levels.
