ANECDOTALS ... This summer, parts of Hungary, Germany, Austria had worst flooding in history ... Some roads melted in UK in driest July ever ... Calgary Alberta had worst flood in its history ... Singapore had its 1st ever hailstorm ... Unprecedented monsoon flooding in Indian Himalayas in June ... Driest Neb year on record ... Driest year in TX ever ... Highest Dec 25 S Pole temp ever in '11 ... Anchorage record snowfall in '12. Hurricane Sandy largest ever - 943 miles across ... Typhoon Bopha $1B damage in '12 ... Switzerland 130MPH winds in '13 ... 129 degrees in Death Valley in '12 hottest June temp ever recorded on Earth ... 358 tornados in US in 72 hrs in '13, largest # in known world history ... Moore OK widest tornado in history - 2.5 miles - in '13. Central Europe flooding in June '13 $16B damage ... FEMA: '53-'89 avg 23 major disasters/yr. In '90's, 46/yr. '00-'09 56. In '10, 81. '11 99, $60B damage. '12 fell to 47, but $110B damage ... Early 1900's Ottoman Turks felled enormous amount of trees in Mideast to build raliway from Damascus to Medina. Now the region is desert.