Australians build up a levee to prevent flood waters in the New South Wales town of Charleville on February 4, 2012. Nearly 9,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes in Australia’s flood-stricken south, where the military has joined emergency services to evacuate the residents. Days of heavy rain have caused flooding across three Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria... 

Widespread cloud and persistent rainfall has kept temperatures down right across Queensland. Longreach, in the Central West, received persistent rain from Tuesday evening, dropping the temperatures by about four degrees. The temperature then barely moved yesterday, reaching a maximum of 11 degrees; 12 degrees below the long-term average and the coldest July day in 44 years of records. Isisford, further...