PARIS, March 27 (AFP) - Water levels in flood-hit central and eastern France were dropping Monday but swollen rivers continued to threaten Paris and western parts of the country, where river traffic remain paralysed. The unusually heavy downpours across France and northwestern Europe since October, and especially in March, are not expected to stop soon. As more rain is forecasted for Tuesday and Wednesday the flooding left two people dead in France and caused widespread property damage.

In the outskirts of Paris, the army was called in to reinforce a dyke that threatened to collapse due to immense water pressure. Water levels in Paris fell by around 20 centimeters (eight inches) in a 24-hour period, but river traffic remained banned, probably for another two to three days, and roads running alongside the river Seine were closed.

Residents in parts of western France -- where gum boots and waterproof clothes were de rigueur -- faced their fourth floods in six months. In eastern France and western Germany the situation was slowly improving along the rivers Saone and Rhone and Rhine, but hundreds of houses remained flooded and numerous country roads were swamped.

France invests around one billion Francs (152 million euros, 136 million dollars) a year on flood prevention. However, the damage caused by this year's rising waters is expected to be around three times that amount.