May is behind us, and good riddance to it. Across the world, the past 30 days have seen a great many losses following cyclone Nargis which struck Burma with a potential 200,000 victims – the worst cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people died in Bangladesh; and the devastating earthquake in China, where figures at the time of press suggested that 65,080 had lost their lives, with another 23,150 missing. At home, with the credit crunch in full swing and economic downturn looming heavy, businesses and individuals should be putting in place preparations for change and uncertain times. We explore some of the risks relating to these in this issue. And while in no way close to the scale of Asia’s recent losses, the potential of another summer of floods in the UK means businesses and homes in high risk areas must prepare for yet more inundations. Our global risks pages explore developments and precautions following a report just published by Defra which finds government and indeed water companies ill-prepared for the inevitable downpour. To end on no brighter a note, much is uncertain in these times, but one thing is for sure – at least in Britain – the rain will come.


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