The River Seine has risen to its highest level for decades in Paris, forcing the authorities to close metro stations and museums.

Two Metro stations located near the river bank were closed after water started to leak though the walls, while the Louvre museum and Musee d’Orsay, were closed protectively and artworks held in its underground reserves were transferred to the upper floors.

At least 15 people have died across central Europe, since the heavy rainfall has led to floods in many European countries from France and Germany to Ukraine and Romania. Two people died in France, 10 people died in southern Germany, while two more deaths were reported in Romania and one in Belgium. Austria, the Netherlands and Poland have also been affected by the floods, since thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes.

Severe flooding in the western suburbs of the French capital is feared on Saturday.

The environment ministry predicted that the Seine would peak at 6.5 metres during the night – the highest level reached since 1951. Earlier in the day, officials had predicted a peak of 6 metres and then 6.2 metres, as the Independent reports.

The Paris town hall admitted that authorities did not expect the water levels to rise so fast.

“We have been taken by surprise,” said Matthieu Clouzeau, the city’s director of prevention and protection. “The rise in water levels has been twice as fast as our planning models anticipated, based on statistics from 1910.”