Cars stand in muddy water on an flooded place in the area of the town of Nemours south of Paris
The Latest on the flooding that has affected parts of Europe.
The French government is preparing for possible evacuations of residents at a Paris campground and islands and a suburb west of the capital because of the worst flooding in decades.The Environment Ministry says floods have hit city squares, basements and garages of the wealthy 16th district of Paris. Authorities are particularly concerned about protecting electrical lines from the rising waters.
The ministry said in a statement Friday that "there should be impacts upstream from Paris" and "possible evacuations."
Areas of focus are the Bois du Boulogne, a vast park on the city's western edge, the islands Ile de la Jatte and Ile Saint-Germain in the Seine River, and the suburb of Rueil-Malmaison.
The German Insurance Association estimates this week's flooding has caused some 450 million euros ($500 million) in damage in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg alone.
The agency, which represents some 460 member companies, said Friday that in addition to the costs for insured houses and contents, there would also be many payments for damaged vehicles and businesses, the dpa news agency reported.
Baden-Wuerttemberg was hit by the flooding first early in the week. Areas of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, which are not in the cost estimate, also suffered damage later in the week.
The Grand Palais exhibition center has been closed as a precautionary measure as Paris' Seine River continues to rise.
Spokeswoman Florence Le Moing confirmed the closure of the center Friday.
The glass-and-iron vaulted Grand Palais is known for art exhibitions that range from the classical to the modern. Its website says the complex draws some 2.5 million visitors annually.
The building is on the right bank of the Seine, roughly midway between the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
Romanian authorities have extended a severe flood warning for nine parts of eastern Romania as rains are swelling rivers in the region.
The National Hydrology Institute said Friday that the highest "red" weather alert was valid until Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) in nine Romanian counties.
Authorities issued a lesser "amber" warning for floods for a larger area of eastern Romania.
Ten trains were canceled Friday in northeastern Romania due to the flooding, which has claimed two lives.
Paris City Hall is shutting some parks and cemeteries and is opening gymnasiums to shelter homeless people amid floods that city authorities say could take weeks to recede.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo said authorities are taking emergency measures because of dangers that trees weakened by rising water levels could fall on passers-by.
Speaking at a crisis center to deal with the worst flooding in the French capital in decades, Hidalgo said authorities are monitoring basements and garages at risk of flooding from rising groundwater.
She said the floods are already hurting the city economy, but no residents have been evacuated yet.
French media are reporting that a well-to-do residential area in Paris, the 16th district, is beginning to flood as the Seine River rises.
Television station BFMTV on Friday broadcast footage of murky water coming up basement stairs, of a flooded street and of water trickling across an apartment corridor.
A spokesman for the mayor of the 16th district said he had no information about any flooding.
Paris' Seine River has been climbing steadily following days of heavy rainfall but until now has done little damage beyond the steep embankments on either side.
Several museums and cultural institutions have closed as protective measures. The floodwaters are expected to peak later Friday.
France's prime minister says ministers are meeting in Paris and the government has activated a crisis cell as the country faces the prospect of continued flooding.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after meeting his Greek counterpart in Athens Friday that the situation required "a lot of vigilance and care." Valls, who was returning to Paris Friday afternoon, added that he was being constantly informed of developments.
He said: "All services have been mobilized to deal with a situation that might, unfortunately, last."
The interior ministry says 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes across France in operations involving thousands of firefighters, military personnel and other officials.
French environment officials say the Seine River will reach its maximum level late Friday as rainfall across the country begins to taper off.
An update posted to the environment ministry's flood watch website says that the Seine would reach its highest level "from the end of the day Friday."
Ministry officials also have downgraded the "red alert" issued for a tributary of the Seine, the Loing, and the Indre River, in central France. Several rivers, including the Seine, are still on "orange alert," meaning that there remains a risk of serious flooding.
While storms are still expected in France's northeast the rainfall will not hit river basins already affected by flooding.
French officials say it's too early to say when the Louvre and other cultural heritage sites affected by the flooding will open.
French Culture Minister Audrey Azouley told journalists she and others were evaluating the situation "nearly hour-by-hour as we don't know yet the evolution of the level of the Seine River."
The Louvre, which is on the right bank of the Seine, and the Orsay Museum, on the left, were closed Thursday following fears that the rising water levels would lead to leaks. Paris' National Library is also closed.
Louvre Director Jean-Luc Martinez said the museum's artwork was in no immediate danger but that the museum needed about 72 hours of lead time to begin evacuating its reserve, which he said comprises about 250,000 pieces of art. Asked when the Louvre would reopen, he said: "We can't say yet."
Rescue workers in Belgium have found the body of a beekeeper who was swept away by rising waters while trying to protect his hives.
The man was reported missing in the village of Harsin on Thursday. Local authorities said the man, in his 60s, was found on Friday morning after fire department divers resumed the search for him.
After days of heavy rain, the Wamme river overflowed its banks and flooded several villages. Homes were inundated and cars swept away.
German authorities say asylum-seekers are pitching in to help recovery workers and townspeople in flooded areas of southern states.
In the Bavarian town of Simbach am Inn, near the Austrian border, Syrian Naja Al Hassas told the dpa news agency Friday that "we know what it means to live in a crisis area and to lose your home" as he helped shovel away rubble.
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