Glossary

Ex ante

Latin for ‘from before’. In the context of disaster events, ex ante instruments are arranged before the event, and ex ante decisions are made at that time as well (Clarke and Dercon 2016).

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other key terms

Disaster risk financing

Financial arrangements made in advance to pay for disaster prevention, response and recovery.

Sustainable development

Meeting today’s needs without limiting future generations’ ability to meet theirs.

Fragility

High exposure to risk combined with weak capacity to cope, often leading to crisis.

Disaster

A severe event causing widespread harm that exceeds a community’s ability to cope alone.

Index

A measurable indicator used to estimate losses and trigger financial payouts.

Risk transfer

When disaster risk is shifted to insurers or capital markets.