Mangroves shelter coastal economic activity from cyclones

Significance Mounting evidence suggests that mangrove forests protect coastal communities during tropical storm events. Yet, no large-scale analysis exists documenting these storm protection benefits globally. We provide global evidence that mangroves shelter economic activity during tropical cyclone exposure and that this sheltering prevents otherwise permanent losses to economic activity. These findings reveal that even modest mangrove forest coverage has the capacity to provide tremendous storm protection services, which highlights the need for mangrove conservation in many vulnerable coastal communities that have prior received less attention.