Underwater: Flooding plagues regions around the world
A boy using an improvised raft made from banana trees, rows along a flooded village caused by heavy rains in Butuan City, Phillipines, on Jan. 11, 2013. Flooding caused by heavy rains in the southern portions of the country has forced 5,000 people to flee their riverside homes.
Australia, Mozambique and the Philippines — to name only a few countries — have over the last several weeks forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands as a result of extreme flooding.
Tropical cyclone Oswald struck southern Queensland, Australia, killing at least three. Helicopters evacuated citizens from areas where conditions were so treacherous that boat rescue was impossible. Winds and rain are now moving south, with Sydney expected to be hit at some point on Monday.
In Mozambique, 35 people have died from flooding since the rainy season started in October. Many more in the southern and central regions of the country have been left homeless by the flood damage.
Flooding has killed at least 12 people in South Africa and allowed 15,000 crocodiles to escape from the Rakwena Crocodile Farm in the Limpopo province.
Heavy rain in the Philippines has forced more than 150,000 people to find alternative shelter. Meteorologists have warned of more precipitation this week, while some are still recovering from Typhoon Bopha — which ravaged the area in December 2012.
Additionally, Indonesia's capital Jakarta is still recovering from rains that have put some districts under up to 9 feet of water.