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Extreme Weather Of The Week (PHOTOS)

PHOTOS: The Week's Worst And Wildest Weather
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In Australia this week, flooding forced four Queensland coal mines to close and a northern New South Wales town was split in half. One resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "We woke up this morning with wallabies, kangaroos, an echidna and a koala sitting in the trees, so I think everything is headed to any little bit of high ground they can."

A deadly avalanche in Japan has caused several deaths and left some areas with twice as much snow as normal, according to the Associated Press. Snow has reportedly caused 56 deaths and over 750 injuries since November.

Heavy snow has also hit Colorado, closing roads across the state. According to AP, "The storm forced the cancellation of more than 150 arriving and departing flights at the Denver airport that had been scheduled through Friday night."

Residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex were relieved week when officials declared the area "officialy out of drought for the first time since July, making it Texas' first major metropolitan area to emerge from the most severe one-year drought in state history," according to the Associated Press.

Elsewhere in Texas, a town near Austin received its first 8,000-gallon water delivery Monday. Spicewood's wells can "no longer produce enough water to meet the needs of the Lake Travis community's 1,100 residents and elementary school."

Below, check out images from wild and extreme weather events around the world this week.

Extreme Weather Of The Week 2/3/12
(01 of14)
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From AP: Water splashes against an iced landing stage on the frozen shores of Lake Neuchatel in Grandson, Switzerland, Friday, Feb, 3, 2012. A cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe with temperatures far below zero. (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron) (credit:AP)
(02 of14)
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From AP: Boys throw snowballs in front of the Colosseum as snow falls in downtown Rome on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. Snow is a rare occurrence for a capital usually blessed by a temperate climate. The snowfall prompted authorities to stop visitors from entering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca) (credit:AP)
(03 of14)
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From Getty: BOULDER, CO - FEBRUARY 3: Grayson Jospe, 11-months, is pulled to the park by his father Michael Jospe February 3, 2012 in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder reported between 12 and 16 inches of snow by Friday morning and is expecting more, closing most schools and government offices. (Photo by Dana Romanoff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
(04 of14)
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From AP: An ice covered boat sits at an iced landing stage at the Lake of Geneva in Versoix, Switzerland, Feb. 3, 2012. A cold spell has reached Europe with temperatures plummeting far below zero. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini) (credit:AP)
(05 of14)
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From Getty: A man walks over the snow-covered Ponte della Musica bridge in Rome on February 3, 2012. A rare mantle of snow blanketed the historic centre of Rome. AFP PHOTO / TIZIANA FABI (credit:Getty)
(06 of14)
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From Getty: Vehicles are stuck in a huge traffic jam after a heavy snowfall in the late afternoon that paralyzed traffic in downtown Brussels on February 3, 2012. More than 1,100 km of traffic jams have been reported in Belgium at 17h this afternoon by drivers associations. The last traffic jam record was registered on February 10, 2010 with 948 km. AFP PHOTO / GEORGES GOBET (credit:Getty)
(07 of14)
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From Getty: A view of the central Grand Palace and Grote Market square after a snow fall, in Brussels, on February 3, 2012. Temperatures fell to minus 10 degrees Celsius in the center of the country, with lows till -17 in Elsenborn, as Europe continues to be in a span of cold weather. AFP PHOTO / BELGA / BENOIT DOPPAGNE (credit:Getty)
(08 of14)
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From AP: A man holds his hat while marching on the frozen shores of Lake Neuchatel in Chez-le-Bart, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. A cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe with temperatures far below zero. (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron) (credit:AP)
(09 of14)
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From Getty: An abandoned car lies on the side on the N-627 road between the city of Burgos and Aguilar de Campo, northern Spain, during a heavy snowfall on February 3, 2012. A cold snap kept Europe in its icy grip, pushing the death toll to 160 as countries from Italy to Ukraine struggled to cope with temperatures that plunged to record lows in some places. AFP PHOTO / CESAR MANSO (credit:Getty)
(10 of14)
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From Getty: Rescue workers stand near vehicles after a chain collision involving dozens, possibly up to a hundred cars took place on February 3, 2012 on the Lahti motorway, close to the Jakomäki district of Helsinki, Finland. Slippery conditions and blowing snow led to hundreds of accidents, injuries, traffic jams and road closures on Friday. At least 40 people were hospitalized, some with serious injuries. Rail and air services also experienced delays. Bad weather and extremely bad traffic conditions are expected to continue through at least Saturday. By late afternoon, Helsinki police had received reports of over 200 accidents. LEHTIKUVA / Jussi Nukari (credit:Getty)
(11 of14)
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From Getty: Rescue workers stand near vehicles after a chain collision involving dozens, possibly up to a hundred cars took place on February 3, 2012 on the Lahti motorway, close to the Jakomäki district of Helsinki, Finland. Slippery conditions and blowing snow led to hundreds of accidents, injuries, traffic jams and road closures on Friday. At least 40 people were hospitalized, some with serious injuries. Rail and air services also experienced delays. Bad weather and extremely bad traffic conditions are expected to continue through at least Saturday. By late afternoon, Helsinki police had received reports of over 200 accidents. LEHTIKUVA / Jussi Nukari (credit:Getty)
(12 of14)
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From AP: A man digs his car out of the snow on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, after a snow storm hit Denver with 10 inches of snow overnight. A powerful winter storm swept across Colorado on Friday as it headed east, bringing blizzard warnings to eastern Colorado and western Kansas, and winter storm warnings for southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) (credit:AP)
(13 of14)
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From AP: Alyssa Alt digs her car out of the snow in Denver on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, after a snow storm dumped 10 inches of snow overnight. Some areas of the state reported as much as 24 inches from the storm. A powerful winter storm swept across Colorado on Friday as it headed east, bringing blizzard warnings to eastern Colorado and western Kansas, and winter storm warnings for southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) (credit:AP)
(14 of14)
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From AP: A woman looks through an icy window in a bus in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. Ukrainian authorities have recorded 38 more deaths due to a severe cold spell, bringing the total over the past week to 101. The Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website Friday that more than 1,200 other people have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite as temperatures in some parts of the country sank to minus 32 Celsius (minus 26 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (credit:AP)

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