
The rising threat to businesses in 2022? Water.
CBSN
COVID-19 has emptied office building and shuttered stores, crippling America's downtowns. But if climate scientists are right, a slower moving foe — flooding — could pose an even greater risk, threatening to drown the nation's commercial real estate.
The rising waters are already endangering hundreds of thousands of commercial structures, according to a first-of-its-kind report released this month. More than 700,000 apartment buildings, malls and office complexes face flooding risks in 2022 severe enough to impede business access, according to the analysis from the nonprofit First Street Foundation and engineering firm Arup. For businesses, the total downtime could reach 3 million days, while the economic impact of closures would approach $50 trillion. For perspective, that's nearly half of global GDP.
"American businesses and local economies face much more uncertainty and unpredictability when it comes to the potential impact of flooding on their bottom line than they may realize," said Matthew Eby, executive director of the First Street Foundation.

Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch in Southlake, Texas, has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, stemming from alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s, the Oklahoma attorney general's office announced Wednesday. We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions. We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.