An Israeli soldier looks on a flooded road at the Negev desert near Kibbutz Zeelim. At least 17 people have died due to a winter storm in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Meteorological agencies in Israel and Lebanon both called it the worst storm in 20 years.—Photo by Reuters

An injured person is carried to a waiting ambulance following an early morning ferry accident during rush hour in Lower Manhattan, in New York City. About 50 people were injured in the accident, which left a large gash on the front side of the Seastreak ferry at Pier 11.—Photo by AFP

Syrian refugee children look out from their snow-covered tents during a winter storm in al-Marj, in the Bekaa valley. — File/Reuters Photo

A Palestinian rides a donkey cart through a flooded street caused by heavy rain in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.—Photo by Reuters

Bushfires in Australia are pictured in this January 2, 2013 handout photo taken by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station.—Photo by Reuters

A man holds a bucket as he tries to extinguish a late night fire at the Okobaba sawmill near the Lagos Lagoon. Fire ripped through a poor suburb in Nigeria's biggest city Lagos on Tuesday, burning down ramshackle homes and workshops as firefighters fought to stop the blaze, a Reuters witness said. Dozens of buildings were burned to the ground in Ebute Metta, a community along the Lagos lagoon where sawmills process timber brought from across Nigeria.—Photo by Reuters

A sprinkler is in use near Dodge City, Kansas. The government declared much of the central and southern Wheat Belt a natural disaster area on January 9, 2013, due to persistent drought that imperils this year's winter wheat harvest.—Photo by Reuters

A driver makes his way through the snow in Aley area, Eastern Lebanon. At least 17 people have also died due to the storm in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Schools in some areas have been shut for days, refugee camps flooded and villages isolated by closed roads.—Photo by Reuters