While part of Europe struggles with heavy flood conditions, part of Africa struggles with bone dry conditions. We're starting with France. The Seine River, which runs through Paris, bursts its banks over the weekend.

The flooding isn't quite as bad as it was in 2016, and nowhere near the level it reached during the Great Flood of 1910 when many Parisians had to evacuate. But though most people there seemed to be taking this event in stride, officials say it could be another week before the waters have significantly receded.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Stabilize is the word everybody is using this morning because the situation is headed towards stabilization, the river levels are still rising and there was some rain overnight. But the Seine here in Paris is expected to peak sometime during the day today or overnight tonight, at about a little less than the levels of the flood of 2016.

But there are big differences between this flood and that flood, and one is that December was a very rainy month, and the month of January, according to some people, was the second wettest in almost the century. And because that, because of that, the reservoir is around Paris, which can have a buffering effect on the flood waters, in fact, are now full. And if there's any further rain, it has no place else to go but here.

But now, as a precaution, officials in Paris have evacuated some the low-lying apartments, basement apartments and especially on the west side of Paris, and they have taken works of art out of some of the museums, out of the basements of some museums. They have as well closed down a gallery in the Louvre here behind me.

In terms of damages, there's no way to estimate it exactly right now. But officials are saying, a former security official for Paris, for example, said that he expected it to be in the hundreds of millions of euros, especially when one considers that the river traffic is a major transport hub for Paris, the river traffic has been cut off now for days as well as they won't be able to determine exactly the extent of damage because they have to wait until the flood waters go down. That could be weeks and it can do a proper inspection of the underground railroads, the footings of the bridges and other things that are presently submerged.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.