A new volcano was born off the north-west coast of Tonga in late December 2014 and January 2015. The report below relates to its existence when it was discovered and reconnoitred by Tongan government agencies, supported by New Zealand technical experts, during that period.
DownloadThis volcano exploded, with devasting effect, in January 2022. The Situation Report below highlights the immediate aftermath.
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We’ve modified our Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) diagram to illustrate the effects on this from conflict and/or a severe breakdown in governance. These adverse effects on civil society are common in crises or complex emergency situations. Follow this link for a jpeg version of this modified DRR diagram:
DownloadThis modified DRR diagram is now included in the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Framework article (see page 14) which can be accessed from the link below. This article includes a description of the four key TorqAid diagrams used to describe DRM, these being the Disaster Risk Management Cycle (DRMC), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) illustration, DRM Planning diagram, and Project Management Cycle (PMC).
DownloadTopics TC08 and TC09 of the accredited Participatory Disaster Risk Management (PDRM) program cover issues relating to Crises and Complex Emergencies (CEs). See the links below to the 2025 online PDRM program. In the past Crisis/CE case studies have included the Rohingya in Bangladesh; Afghanistan, Syria, Gaza, Yemen, and Ukraine. For the forthcoming 2025 online PDRM program, we are looking at a Middle Eastern scenario for Topic TC08; and then the Rohingya in Bangladesh, and forced displacement in Myanmar for Topic TC09. We also cover the 2020-2023 COVID-19 pandemic in Topic TC 09.
DownloadWith reference to conflict breaking out again in NW Syria in December 2025, the reader might be interested to note this customised DRR diagram illustrating the situation and key events in Syria (Or at least parts of it) over the period 2011 through to the end of 2017.
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The following are suggested Five Key Attributes (5KAs) of a humanitarian or development practitioner. They are the personal reflections of Chris Piper, the TorqAid CEO who has spent most of his working career in the aid sector.
DownloadThese 5KAs are included in the Participatory Disaster Risk Management (PDRM) Topic TC 03 (Humanitarian Attributes & Competencies). The links to the online PDRM running from the end of July through to mid November 2026 are given below.
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Enclosed is the 2023 Bhutan Research Project (RP) as carried out by the online Participatory Disaster Risk Management (PDRM) student cohort during Semester 2.
DownloadThis is a 92 page document which consists of the following sections:
I am currently involved in writing a couple of books. One of these is called ‘Sam the Rat and other Stories from the Field’. It consists of a dozen chapters each describing events from my career as a global humanitarian and development practitioner. Enclosed is a link to one of the chapters (Sam the Rat). Enjoy it!
DownloadThe twelve chapters are currently planned out as follows: