First Modern Risk

"In August 2008, the British government released its first 'National Risk Register', which contained an 'assessment of the risks of civil emergencies facing people in the UK'. The Register has been updated every two years since 'to ensure that changes to the assessment of risks in terms of impact, plausibility and likelihood are correctly captured'. By 2015, the most significant risks facing Britons were identified as pandemic flu and issues associated with weather, from coastal flooding to heatwaves and gales, alongside 'catastrophic terrorist attacks' and 'widespread electricity failure'. 'Major industrial accidents' ranked just behind. Regardless of where each of these risks fell on the scale, it was clear that the state would be called upon to plan for and clean up after each of them. Accordingly, a separate document on 'Central Government's Concept of Operations' outlined how, in theory, the state, with government as its agent, would act as risk manager"--