Force Majeure

Force majeure (/ˌfɔːrs/ FORS, /ˌfɔərs mɑːˈʒɜːr/ mah-ZHUR, or /məˈʒɜːr/ mə-ZHUR; French pronunciation: ​[fɔʁs maʒœʁ]) – or vis major (Latin) – meaning "superior force", also known as cas fortuit (French) or casus fortuitus (Latin) "chance occurrence, unavoidable accident", is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term act of God (hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract. In practice, most force majeure clauses do not excuse a party's non-performance entirely, but only suspend it for the duration of the force majeure.

...
Wikipedia