There's something uniquely terrifying about the word 'superstorm.' Maybe it's the "super." Or the "storm." Either way, California might be utterly destroyed by a weeks-long superstorm one of these days, say scientists. Get your luxury canoes ready.

Flooding in the Philippines has killed 40 people over the last two weeks. More than 22,000 are in shelters.

The new year has arrived and it is awful, what with bird/fish/crab death, floods, freezing temperatures, and zombie ex-Vice Presidents. So let's just put it all out there and list the reasons why this is already the worst year ever.

[This wallaby probably regrets going after that giant bale of delicious hay as it sits in the middle of a huge flood in Australia today. Image via AP]

[People paddle a boat at the flooded street in village of Rijeka Crnojevica, Montenegro, where hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes because of floods caused by heavy rains. Photo via AP.]

Venezuela has been hit by deadly floods and mudslides that have claimed at least 25 lives. This has prompted President Hugo Chávez to invite dozens of now-homeless Venezuelans to stay at his presidential palace until they are resettled. How benevolent!

[Cars in a flooded parking lot in Palmira, Colombia, where La Niña has caused an exceptionally wet rainy season, bringing with it floods, landslides, and 130 deaths. Photo via AP.]

Chinese rescue workers managed to extract 29 miners from a flooded coal mine in the Sichuan province.

A Pakistani boy salvaged a window from his home after flooding in Dadu district, southern Pakistan. The UN says flooding there has left 8 million people homeless and 12 million in need of emergency food aid. [Dawn; Image via AP]

[A firefighter rescues a dog during flash floods today in Arlington, Texas. Aw. Photo via AP]

U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie is in horribly flooded Pakistan today to "highlight the continued urgent need for help." And Pakistan does need help! Jolie's leaky pail can't scoop out all of that water alone. [Image via AP]

[A barber cuts a customer's beard on a makehift barbershop at a camp for people displaced by floods in Pakistan's Punjab province. Floods have receded in north and central Pakistan, but are continuing in the south. Pic via AP.]

According to U.N. estimates, the flooding in Pakistan has put 3.5 million children at "imminent risk" of waterborne disease, while 72,000 kids are at "high risk" of death. One fifth of Pakistan has been hit by flooding. [AP; Getty]

[The Taliban hinted on Thursday that they might attack foreigners doing aid work in Pakistan. Here, Pakistani villagers stand on the remains of an embankment washed away by heavy flooding in Thatta near Hyderabad. Pic via AP.]

[These residents of Khanghar in Central Pakistan don't get to enjoy the beautiful sunset while wading through flood waters toward drier parts of the area. Image via AP]

[Tents are set up at a camp organized by the Pakistan Army for Pakistani families displaced by floods in the Sindh province in southern Pakistan. Pic via AP.]

Three weeks of flooding in Pakistan has made four million people homeless, and one third of the country has been hit directly. And yesterday, Pakistan's UN envoy said the official number of 1,500 dead is too low. [Image: Getty]

[A Pakistani family in the Sindh Province in southern Pakistan stand on their farm compound surrounded by flood waters, awaiting aid distribution. The number of Pakistanis left homeless has doubled to 4 million. Pic via AP]

The devastating floods in Pakistan and widespread fires in Russia are caused by the same thing: God. Ha, no, totally kidding—they were caused by a "kink" in the jet stream, a "river of air" miles above the surface.

Flooding in Pakistan has already left an estimated 20 million people homeless and killed at least 1,500. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited flooded areas and appealed for help: "The scale of this disaster is so large." [BBC; Getty]