WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – American businesses stand to lose more than three million days of operations from flooding next year and will face worsening economic fallout in the coming decades as climate change fuels ever more extreme weather events, researchers said Monday (Dec 13).
Next year’s expected damage, based on estimated trends, translates to a nearly US$50 billion ($68 billion) annual hit for local economies in cities from Miami to Pittsburgh, according to First Street Foundation, a non-profit group that maps climate risk.
In a new study, researchers there took a rare comprehensive look at the expected flood risk to businesses and local economies in the United States – a threat often underestimated amid a focus on flooded homes and family losses.
“It’s a whole other dimension of flood risk,” said Dr Jeremy Porter, head of research and development at First Street Foundation. “You talk about commercial activity, you’re talking…
