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Flooding Due to Climate Change Caused $75 Billion of Damage in the U.S.

A new study looks at 30 years of precipitation data to examine the impact of warming on storm costs.

Flood water surrounds grain silos following Tropical Storm Imelda in Fannett, Texas.

Flood water surrounds grain silos following Tropical Storm Imelda in Fannett, Texas.

Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg

It’s long been established that warming temperatures cause more frequent and intense precipitation. But placing a dollar value on the contribution of climate change to storm damage has been tricky.

Now, Stanford University researchers have determined that a third of the financial damage caused by flooding in the U.S. over the past three decades—almost $75 billion worth—can be attributed to excess precipitation caused by climate change.