The latest annual World Development Report from the World Bank examines how countries can strengthen their risk-management systems in the wake of the multiple crises they have suffered in recent years. People face many different types of risk, whether from financial turmoil, crime or natural disasters. Such calamities as droughts and floods can cause huge numbers of fatalities and devastating economic losses. It is striking that the number of natural disasters has increased over the past 30 years in every region of the world. In deciding how to deal with them, governments face a trade-off between the cost-effectiveness of preparing for risks and that of coping with their consequences.