Video | Watch: sickening rat swarms emerge in Paris, flushed out by flooded Seine

Rats are seeking higher ground as their nests are flooded by rains which are threatening basements of riverside museums, including the Louvre

A writhing mass of rats fills a dumpster near the Seine River in Paris, in this scene from a video posted online by Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday. Photo: Le Parisien

Published: 2:07pm, 25 Jan 2018Updated: 2:06pm, 25 Jan 2018

Parisians were likely to spot more rats than usual in coming days as the Seine continued to rise Wednesday after heavy rains, flushing out the rodents, while part of the Louvre was closed as artworks were moved to higher ground.

Much of France has been lashed by downpours throughout January, inundating many homes and shops with muddy water and halting trains on a busy commuter line that runs through Paris.

The Seine is expected to reach 6.2 metres on Saturday, a peak last reached in 2016 when floods sent riverside museums scrambling to move artworks from their basements, which was the highest level since 1982.

Rats scurry away from a rubbish bin near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in this scene from a video posted on Facebook on Monday. Photo: Facebook / Basile Ducorneau

“No water has yet got in” to the Louvre’s Islamic Art wing in the basement, but it will remain off limits to visitors until at least Sunday, the museum said Wednesday.

But Paris’s rat problem has gotten much more visible as their nests are swamped with water, forcing them to seek drier shelters.

Stomach-churning video of a rat swarm filling a dumpster near the Seine was posted by Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday.