Impacts from climate change are not always easy to see. But for many local businesses in coastal communities across the United States, the evidence is right outside their doors – or in their parking lots.
That evidence isn’t just present in the form of more frequent flooding. According to a new study published Feb. 15 in the journal Science Advances, it is also revealed as a financial price for business. Stanford graduate student Miyuki Hino and her colleagues found that downtown Annapolis, Maryland’s state capital, suffered a loss of 3,000 visits in 2017 due to high-tide flooding, which equates to a loss of somewhere between $86,000 and $172,000 in revenue.
“Small businesses in downtown Annapolis rely on visitors. By measuring the extent of the impact of flooding, we can understand the business case – how sea level rise is already impacting businesses’ experiences and profits,” said Samanthe Belanger, a co-author and Stanford MBA student at the time of the study.
Read more at Stanford University
Image: Storm surge floods Dock Street in downtown Annapolis, Maryland. (Credit: Matt Rath/Chesapeake Bay Program)