Paris floods threaten 250,000 priceless Louvre artworks

[MadGamer]

Days of intense rainfall in France have caused the river Seine to rise to levels unseen in 35 years and floods which have killed at least three. Authorities have shut the Louvre amid as 250,000 artworks are threatened by the waters.

The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that as many as 20,000 individuals have been evacuated from their homes across France in response to the floods and the situation required "a lot of vigilance and care," the Associated Press reported.

You can read more about this http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/paris-floods-threaten-250000-priceless-louvre-artworks-force-evacuation-20000-people-1563576

[Whistle]

Some friends of mine arrived in Paris a few days ago on a long anticipated dream holiday.  Poor guys are having to cope with the terrible flooding. Its a horrible thing.  Meanwhile, in my own country of South Africa we are still reeling from drought.

[xhomerx10]

Quel dommage!  Luckily they have the foresight and the time to evacuate the citizens.

edit: This might have been better in the Press section... or were you trying to get a political discussion on the value of artwork?

[countryfree]

Very surprised to hear about this. The Louvre is just one street from the river so it should be organized and well protected, prepared at least, against flooding risks.

[bryant.coleman]

Surprising. Had these floods happened 30 years ago, then the damages would have been understandable. But how something like this can happen in the 21st century? The technology has advanced so much, and still the French authorities were not able to predict the impending floods and take the necessary mitigation measures?

[apollofire]

Sad to see how nature is behaving so cruel

[alyssa85]

Surprising. Had these floods happened 30 years ago, then the damages would have been understandable. But how something like this can happen in the 21st century? The technology has advanced so much, and still the French authorities were not able to predict the impending floods and take the necessary mitigation measures?

What has technology got to do with the climate? the 21st century has seen far more violent swings in climate than the 20th century - lots of rain coming down in a short time, alternating with drought. Nothing technology can do about excessive rain...

[vokain]

Surprising. Had these floods happened 30 years ago, then the damages would have been understandable. But how something like this can happen in the 21st century? The technology has advanced so much, and still the French authorities were not able to predict the impending floods and take the necessary mitigation measures?

What has technology got to do with the climate? the 21st century has seen far more violent swings in climate than the 20th century - lots of rain coming down in a short time, alternating with drought. Nothing technology can do about excessive rain...

The claim in the second sentence irks me. The article JUST said the last time Paris had a rain like that was 35 years ago (in the 20th century).  

[alyssa85]

Surprising. Had these floods happened 30 years ago, then the damages would have been understandable. But how something like this can happen in the 21st century? The technology has advanced so much, and still the French authorities were not able to predict the impending floods and take the necessary mitigation measures?

What has technology got to do with the climate? the 21st century has seen far more violent swings in climate than the 20th century - lots of rain coming down in a short time, alternating with drought. Nothing technology can do about excessive rain...

The claim in the second sentence irks me. The article JUST said the last time Paris had a rain like that was 35 years ago (in the 20th century).  

Both France and Britain have been experiencing a higher amount of violent storms in the last ten years. It was a matter of time that Paris experienced it - the delay is because Paris is inland, whereas London looks out to the north sea.