Australia Under Water

Jan. 18: A levee is in place around a power substation in an attempt to hold back water from the swollen Loddon River at Kerang, Australia. Up to 1,500 homes in Kerang, in the north of Victoria state, could be affected if the Lodden River rises any further. (AP2011)

Jan. 18: Emergency workers herd cattle along a flooded road at Kerang, Australia. Up to 1,500 homes in Kerang, in the north of Victoria state, could be affected if the Lodden River rises any further. (AP2011)

Jan. 12: A car wrecks outside the town of Grantham in South East Queensland, Australia. The small town was hit by flash flooding causing mass destruction. Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeastern Australia flowed onto the streets of Brisbane, the nation's third-largest city, forcing people to flee suburbs and skyscrapers. (AP)

Jan. 12: An entire suburb is submerged outside Ipswich, west of Brisbane, Australia. Emergency sirens blared across Australia's third-largest city Wednesday as floodwaters that have torn a deadly path across the northeast poured into an empty downtown, swamping neighborhoods in what may be Brisbane's worst flooding in 100 years. (AP)

Jan. 12: A farmland is flooded in South East Queensland. Deadly floodwaters flowed onto the streets in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland since drenching rains that began in November sent swollen rivers spilling over their banks, inundating an area larger than France and Germany combined. (AP)

Jan. 12: A police boat looks for survivors on the Brisbane River, Brisbane, Australia. Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeastern Australia flowed onto the streets of the nation's third-largest city, forcing people to flee suburbs and skyscrapers. (AP)

Jan. 12: Car wrecks outside the town of Grantham in South East Queensland, Australia. The small town was hit by flash flooding causing mass destruction. Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeastern Australia flowed onto the streets of Brisbane, the nation's third-largest city, forcing people to flee suburbs and skyscrapers. (AP)

Jan. 12: Three men stand at the door of the Lawrence General and Liquor Store at Lawrence, in Australia's New South Wales state, with a boat close at hand as floodwater surround them. (AP)

Jan. 10: People cling to railings and metal fences on a flooded street in Toowoomba, Australia, during a flash flood. Flash floods swept through the northeastern Australian community killing one woman, trapping others in cars and leaving some clinging to trees as relentless rains brought more misery to a region battling its worst flooding in decades. (AP2011)

Jan. 10: People survey the damage after a flash flood tossed vehicles down a street in Toowoomba, Australia. Flash floods swept through the northeastern Australian community killing one woman, trapping others in cars and leaving some clinging to trees as relentless rains brought more misery to a region battling its worst flooding in decades. (AP2011)

Jan. 10: People survey the damage after a flash flood tossed vehicles down a street in Toowoomba, Australia. Flash floods swept through the northeastern Australian community killing one woman, trapping others in cars and leaving some clinging to trees as relentless rains brought more misery to a region battling its worst flooding in decades.  (AP)

Jan. 10: A man is rescued by emergency workers after he was stranded clinging to a tree on a flooded street in Toowoomba, Australia, during a flash flood. Flash floods swept through the northeastern Australian community killing one woman, trapping others in cars and leaving some clinging to trees as relentless rains brought more misery to a region battling its worst flooding in decades. (AP2011)

Jan. 10: Tow truck workers clear vehicles from a street in Toowoomba, Australia, following a flash flood. Flash floods swept through the northeastern Australian community killing one woman, trapping others in cars and leaving some clinging to trees as relentless rains brought more misery to a region battling its worst flooding in decades. (AP)

Jan. 10: People wade up to their waists in water at a street corner in Toowoomba, Australia, as a flash flood carries vehicles past them. Flash floods swept through a northeastern Australian community Monday, overturning cars and flinging a van against several trees as relentless rains brought more misery to a region battling its worst flooding in decades. (AP)

Jan. 4: In this image provided by the Rockhampton Regional Council, water inundates the suburb of Depot Hill at Rockhampton, Australia. Residents of Rockhampton, cut off by some of the country's worst flooding in decades are being warned to stay out of the water, and not just because of the risk of being swept away: Debris, snakes and even crocodiles could also pose a danger.

Jan. 4: In this image provided by the Rockhampton Regional Council, the Fitzroy River bursts its banks at Rockhampton, Australia. Residents of Rockhampton, cut off by some of the country's worst flooding in decades are being warned to stay out of the water, and not just because of the risk of being swept away: Debris, snakes and even crocodiles could also pose a danger. (AP)

Jan. 4: In this image provided by the Rockhampton Regional Council, water inundates the outskirts of Rockhampton, Australia. Residents of Rockhampton, cut off by some of the country's worst flooding in decades, are being warned to stay out of the water, and not just because of the risk of being swept away: Debris, snakes and even crocodiles could also pose a danger. (AP)

Jan. 4: In this image provided by the Rockhampton Regional Council, water inundates the suburb of Depot Hill at Rockhampton, Australia. (AP)

Jan. 4: Jason McInnes pushes a wheelbarrow of sandbags in Rockhampton, Australia. Residents of Rockhampton, cut off by some of the country's worst flooding in decades, are being warned to stay out of the water, and not just because of the risk of being swept away: Debris, snakes and even crocodiles could also pose a danger. (AP)

Jan. 3: In this photo released by the Northern Territory Police, four German tourists are safely rescued from the flooded Magela Creek, near Jabiru, Australia. Drenching rain that started before Christmas has flooded an area the size of France and Germany combined. (AP)

Jan. 2: In this image made from AuBC video via Associated Press Television News, State Emergency Service (SES) workers on boats, along with a couple, left, make their ways in a flooded street in Rockhampton, Australia. Days of pounding rain last week left much of northeastern Australia swamped by a sea of muddy water, with flooding affecting about 200,000 people in an area larger than France and Germany combined. (AP)

Jan. 2: This image made from AuBC video via Associated Press Television News shows police checking a house to see if it's occupied on a flooded street in Rockhampton, Australia. Days of pounding rain last week left much of northeastern Australia swamped by a sea of muddy water, with flooding affecting about 200,000 people in an area larger than France and Germany combined. (AP)

Jan. 2: In this image made from AuBC video via Associated Press Television News, two men get out of a boat at the front gate of a house on a flooded street in Rockhampton, Australia. Days of pounding rain last week left much of northeastern Australia swamped by a sea of muddy water, with flooding affecting about 200,000 people in an area larger than France and Germany combined. (AP)

Dec. 30: A wallaby stands on a large round hay bail trapped by rising flood waters outside the town of Dalby in Queensland, Australia. Days of torrential downpours have left parts of central and southern Queensland state inundated, flooding thousands of homes and businesses, cutting off roads and forcing the entire populations of two towns to evacuate. (AP)