2017 was the most expensive year so far for disasters, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).Hurricane Harvey (flooding in Houston in August and September): $US125 billion in damage.Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico in September): $US90 billion in damage.Hurricane Irma (Caribbean and Florida in September): $US50 billion in damage.US Western wildfires cost another $US18 billionGermany-based Insurance Company Munich Re claimsinsurers are set to pay out a record $US135 billion for 2017.Uninsured losses were even greater, around $US200 billion.There were 710 natural disasters around the world, up from the annual average of 605.These happened all round the world, but the US disasters were the most costly, around half of all insurance payouts.Harvard oceanographer and climate expert James McCarthy, on the role of climate change,explained:''We can expect extreme weather events and economic losses and costs associated with them to continue increasing unless we make dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."