Municipal bonds are a time-honored way to fund roads, schools, bridges and other public projects while paying investors interest, usually at tax-free rates.

But what happens when floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other climate events buckle roads, swamp public buildings and disrupt the municipal revenues that pay for the bond debt?

They can create what researchers from Northeastern University call a climate debt doom loop that makes it even harder for cities and towns to respond to and prepare for future disasters.

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