The heart of Paris is underwater - and the images are a shocking reminder the city could be overdue for a historic flood

REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

A street-lamp is seen on the flooded banks of the Seine River in Paris, France, after days of almost non-stop rain caused flooding in the country, January 24, 2018.

Paris - they call it the "Ville Lumière" - a city of lights.

But this week, the French capital looks more like a city of water. On Tuesday, during Paris's annual spring fashion show, the river Seine started overspilling its banks and gushing into neighboring streets as a result of weeks of rain.

Paris isn't the only place in the flood zone: at least 15 French departments (the rough equivalent of counties in the US) across the north and east of the country are on alert for more flooding, the Associated Press reports, even as a break from heavy rain is in the forecast.

The flood levels in Paris are expected to continue to rise until Saturday. Rainfall totals have been double the normal amount this winter in the city, and the Louvre museum, which sits beside the river, has closed the lower level of the department of Islamic Art to the public until at least Saturday.

It's a reminder that a catastrophic flood hit the city a century ago, drowning homes for months on end, and setting off a rash of cases of typhoid and scarlet fever. Some think the town is disastrously underprepared for another flood like that one.

Take a look at this week's flooding.