Last winter, heavy snowfalls prompted criticism of the Government for failing to ensure that the country is prepared for severe weather. Billions of pounds were lost to businesses through workers being unable to make their journey to work during a week of heavy snowfall. Others felt that these costs should be accepted philosophically. Given that the likelihood of a prolonged period of heavy snow in the UK is very low, it could be said that the high cost of investing in preventative measures would be unreasonable. Governments have to make an assessment of the probability of the event occurring, the cost of preventative measures and the cost of the event happening. In some cases the cost of preventative measures is too high when the risk is low. The recent severe weather is one such case. One might also consider the threats of pandemics such as bird flu, or asteroids hitting the earth, both of which might be considered ëlow risk but high cost.í