Early Monday morning, central Italy was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake caused serious damage to several medieval hill towns in the region, killing over 260 residents, injuring over 1,000 and leaving 28,000 homeless. Despite the dangers from aftershocks, the search for survivors continues, and will be maintained until Sunday, after which the daunting tasks of cleanup and reconstruction willl begin. (32 photos total)

The Red River is approaching record flood levels, likely to break century-old records this weekend. Flowing north toward Manitoba along the Minnesota-North Dakota border, the river is jammed up by ice and is being fed by rain, snow and meltwater. The National Weather Service has issued projections of a crest of 43 feet near Fargo, North Dakota, 24 feet above flood stage. Volunteers and national guardsmen are out in force, building levees, rescuing and evacuating those that need to get to higher ground. Cold temperatures are hampering efforts, freezing damp sandbags and making the job that much more strenuous for volunteers. 800 more National Guard troops and 150 Red Cross personnel are arriving in the area this weekend. (30 photos total)

The state of Victoria in southern Australia has recently been hit with hundreds of bush fires during a record-breaking heatwave - temperatures well above 38°C (100°F). Unfortunately, these fires have proved to be the deadliest in Australian history, with at least 166 deaths reported so far. The fires mostly appear to have been started by lightning - however a few appear to have been arson, and are under investigation - entire towns being declared crime scenes. Twenty-four fires are still burning, and authorities warn that the death toll will likely rise. (36 photos total)

Six months ago, China suffered its worst earthquake in a generation. The magnitude 8.0 Sichuan Earthquake erased many mountain towns and villages from the face of the map, with destruction radiating outward leaving millions homeless, over 300,000 injured, nearly 70,000 dead, and over 18,000 people still listed as missing. Now, as winter approaches, reconstruction is well under way, with priority placed on building houses for survivors still living in temporary tents. China's government has pledged nearly $150 billion over three years toward the reconstruction effort - including new schools which will be built to the highest standards, after government officials admitted some blame for the shodddy construction of hundreds of schools that collapsed in last May's quake, killing up to 10,000 children. [Previously on The Big Picture: Earthquake Damage in Beichuan County, After the Quake] (32 photos total)

Several wildfires raged throughout Southern California this weekend, in the hills surrounding Los Angeles, burning some 35,000 acres (55 sq mi) and destroying around 1,000 homes as California's Fire Season extends toward becoming a year-round condition. Dry Santa Ana winds of up to 70 mph drove flames and embers across valleys and into neighborhoods, in some cases burning only a few homes, in others, wiping out entire communities. Most of the fires are contained now - the causes still under investigation. Fortunately, few injuries and no deaths have been reported, as some 50,000 evacuees begin returning to their homes to assess the damage. (35 photos total)

Although over 1,400 fires have been contained in California this season, there still remain 330 active fires, with warmer, drier weather in the forecast. As of yesterday (7/6) there were nearly 20,000 people involved in the firefighting effort statewide, and a large swath of California had been designated a federal disaster area by President Bush. (17 photos total)

Recent crop failures, drought conditions and the current high price of food have plunged Ethiopia into another food crisis, reminiscent of the famines of 1984-85 which killed over 1 million. People have become so desperate for food that they are eating seeds that were meant for their next harvest. 4.5 million Ethiopians are in need right now.

News like this feels familiar, yet distant. Words like famine and crisis describe the situation broadly, but it can be hard to personalize, to put faces to such things. Reuters photographer Radu Sigheti takes us on a brief, painful and intimate visit with the Mohamed family, as they experienced the loss of their young daughter Michu, due to malnutrition, earlier this month.
(8 photos total)

The rising Mississippi River has broken high-water records up and down the Iowa and Illinois shore, cresting as high as 12 feet above flood stage in some places. Estimates place the cost of the damage at over $1 billion dollars, and concerns are rising over crop damage, toxic remnants that were washed into neighborhoods, future mosquito invasions, and maintaining supplies of clean drinking water. Communities further downstream are bracing for possible flooding as well. (16 photos total)

A number of wildfires burned across Northern California late last week, and over the weekend. Firefighters have them all under control now, with the largest, the Humboldt Fire, now 90% contained with 74 homes destroyed, and at least $11 million in damage. Residents began returning to their homes to see what survived, and what could be salvaged. (16 photos total)

On the two-year anniversary of its eruption, international scientists say they are almost certain a mud volcano that displaced tens of thousands of villagers in central Indonesia was caused by faulty drilling of a gas exploration well - not an earthquake as claimed by the gas company. "We are more certain than ever that the Lusi mud volcano is an unnatural disaster and was triggered by drilling" said Richard Davies, lead author of a study published this week in the academic journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Two years ago now, on 28 May 2006, gas company PT Lapindo Brantas exploring for gas in Sidoarjo, in East Java, Indonesia, drilled a borehole. At 5 AM, a secondary stage of drilling began and the drill string went about 9,300 feet down, after which the first small eruption of water, steam and a small amount of gas occurred at a location just southwest of the well. Several other eruptions followed over the next few days. The flow of hot mud has not ceased since.

Fourteen people have been killed and 30,000 people have been evacuated from the area. At least a dozen villages, with more than 10,000 homes have been destroyed while schools, offices and factories have also been wiped out and a major impact on the wider marine and coastal environment is expected. (11 photos total)

Chaiten Volcano in Chile continues to erupt, after its recent eruption on May 6th, - its first activity in over 9,000 years. (12 photos total)

After nearly 70,000 confirmed deaths and five million people left homeless (as of May 29th), the Sichuan Earthquake of 2008 continues to cause hardship across the region. More than 30 "quake Lakes", formed by landslides have flooded many areas, relief and supplies are still needed and the cleanup continues. (13 photos total)

Beichuan Qiang County, in Sichuan, China was one of the worst-affected regions during the Great Sichuan Earthquake of May 12, 2008. The townships of Qushan and Leigu were hit particularly hard, concrete structures crumbling to rubble under their own weight, or being crushed by landslides. (10 photos total)