A season of extremes in eastern Australia—punctuated by raging wildfires, scorching summer temperatures, and long-term drought—took another dramatic turn in mid-February 2020. In just a few days parts of Queensland and New South Wales were soaked by more rain than many areas saw in all of 2019. The deluge swelled rivers out of their banks, leading to muddy floods in many coastal regions, as in this image. There were widespread rainfall totals above 200 millimeters (8 inches) in just twenty-four hours, with some reports as high as 500 to 700 millimeters (20 to 28 inches) in a week. January 25 and February 10, 2020.