As floods slam more U.S. firms, $50 billion economic drag expected in 2022

(Reuters, 13 Dec 2021) Rising climate-change-related flood risks are creating growing losses for both firms and the communities that depend on them.

American businesses stand to lose more than 3 million days of operations from flooding in 2022 and will face worsening economic fallout in the coming decades as climate change fuels ever more extreme weather events, researchers said Monday.

Next year's expected damage, based on estimated trends, translates to a nearly $50 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 Jeremy Porter, head of research and development at First Street Foundation.

"You talk about commercial activity, you're talking about the economic activity that underpins the entire community."

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Reuters, 13 Dec 2021: As floods slam more U.S. firms, $50 billion economic drag expected in 2022