I’m currently writing a book entitled ‘Sam the Rat and other stories from the field’. This consists of 12 chapters, one of which (‘Sam the Rat’) is enclosed here. This may be of particular interest to humanitarian and development practitioners, but also those of you who are travelers and/or adventurers. Enjoy it!
The 2025 PDRM will include an analysis of hazards in Bhutan, which include Glacial Lake Output Floods (GLOF), Landslides & Floods, Wildfires/Forest Fires, Earthquakes, and Drought. Mention of these (together with other hazards from different regions) is first made in Topic TC02, with a more detailed risk management approach being introduced in Topics TC06 & TC07.
The link below includes details of the 2026 assessment tasks for the online Semester 2 Participatory Disaster Risk Management (PDRM) program running from the 27th July through to the 13th November 2026. The assessment details also include (at the bottom of the first page) the contact details at Murdoch University regarding Advanced Standing issues. The […]
Enclosed are the teaching notes for the PDRM Topic TC 09 (COVID-19). A Zoom teaching session on this (together with Topic TC 08) will take place on Thursday 26th October at 6pm (Perth time), which is 9pm (!!) Melbourne time. These Topic TC 09 notes are part on the online PDRM program, running from the […]
An increasingly likely el Nino-related weather event in the second half of 2023 will result in higher than normal possibilities of drought to the Southwest Pacific nations, as well as above-normal drought and potential bushfire conditions to parts of the Australian eastern seaboard. TorqAid has a rich mix of Participatory Disaster Risk Management (PDRM) field and training experience in these geographical areas, and is able to offer targeted PDRM training to interested stakeholders over the July-October 2023 period.
Following the two Turkish earthquakes of the 6th Feb 2023, TorqAid has prepared its customised Humanitarian & Development Bibliography and Agency Directory to provide a toolkit of useful resources for the humanitarian practitioner on the ground. The Agency Directory highlights ReliefWeb and ACAPS as key resources, together with BBC and Al-Jazeera news services. The Bibliography also highlights earthquake lessons learnt from both ALNAP and DEC articles. The Turkish earthquakes are now covered as the main complex emergency/crisis case study (the other being Ukraine) in the 2023 PDRM training program.
The Climate Book is a new publication created by Ms Greta Thunberg. It covers 400 pages, and consists of five Parts, which together comprise 100 key articles written by global experts in the various fields covered. An ideal resource for development/humanitarian practitioners, tertiary/secondary students; and others involved or interested in climate change.
Highlighted below is a customised Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) timeline, showing key events, and effects of these on the Syrian economy, from 2011 through to 2018.
Bushfires are covered as examples of natural hazards, sometimes exacerbated by man-made effects, in Topic TC02 of the online accredited TorqAid 2025 PDRM program running from early March to mid June.
Enclosed is a resume for Chris Piper in his role as Global Humanitarian Practitioner (GHP) and Teacher/Trainer/Facilitator.