nexustandards.com/society · 2 taught
Governance, Security and Society
NRS-H56 Conflict-induced harm; NRS-H57 Humanitarian crises
2standards1discipline
Illustrative: a hexagonal population grid where a wave rises, peaks and recovers from seeded outbreaks
Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Hazards, Disasters and Resilience · Department of Humanitarian Action, Mobility and Community Resilience
The humanitarian system, its standards, needs assessment and forced displacement
Humanitarian action and displacement
Humanitarian action is principled, coordinated and assessed against standards.
- Courses
- In preparation
- Levels
- L1 Introductory
- Labs
- Map lab
- Humanitarian principles
- Coordination and the cluster approach
- Sphere minimum standards
- Needs assessment and response planning
- Cash and voucher assistance
- Forced displacement and durable solutions
- Disaster displacement and planned relocation
- Humanitarian-development-peace nexus
Courses in development extend the scope to further subjects: Humanitarian needs analysis, cash and accountability; Forced displacement and durable solutions.
02Maps
Build a twin of any place
Search any place or open the world; the layers and generators follow humanitarian action and displacement on the planet map, the globe and in 3D.
- Terrain 59 to 3,044 m
- 2 reference earthquakes, M7.5 to M7.8
- 3,643,786 people in the box, 2020
- Earthquakes M4.5 and above, past week: read live when the 3D twin opens
- USGS ShakeMap intensity contours: read live when the 3D twin opens
Drag to move, right drag or Shift with a drag to turn and tilt, Ctrl with the wheel to zoom. Keyboard: arrows move, Shift with arrows turn and tilt, + and – zoom, 0 resets, V steps through the views, Escape clears.
Flat plan of the same data: relief, the two epicentres with magnitude and depth, the WorldPop count grid and the numbers below. The 3D twin opens on devices that can draw it, once its data and code have been checked.
The boundaries, names and designations shown do not imply any judgement on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Countries: Natural Earth (public domain).
03Live map
Hazards now in Türkiye
Flood water, active fires, heavy rain and smoke, beside where people live, over Türkiye.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 3
Hazards now
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Hazards now, framed on Türkiye.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · U.S. Geological SurveySources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- MODIS and VIIRS atmosphere products, NASA LANCE and LAADS DAAC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
- Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Optional layers (20 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
- Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026
- Aerosol optical depth, daily: VIIRS NOAA-20 Deep Blue AOD, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
04The subject
The subject, methods and measures and debates and bodies
The field and its scope
For humanitarian programme staff, coordinators, government counterparts and analysts who plan and deliver assistance to people affected by disasters and conflict, including those displaced from their homes.
Quantities and units
Methods and their limits
Each method is listed with what it assumes and where it fails.
What the field debates
Bodies that set practice, and the data they publish
Bodies and standards are named so learners can find and apply their published work; the Academy teaches their use and links to the publisher, and no affiliation is implied.
05The method
From a displaced population to a funded response: how litres per person, a minimum standard and appeal coverage meet in a camp
The number of displaced people divides the water delivered into litres per person per day; the Sphere benchmark says what that number must reach; the same count times a cost per person gives the appeal; the share funded decides how many are served, and the coordinator allocates the shortfall.
Sources: Sphere Association, The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, fourth edition (2018); Knox Clarke and Campbell, Coordination in theory, coordination in practice: the case of the Clusters (2018); Doocy and Tappis, Cash-based approaches in humanitarian emergencies: a systematic review (2017); OCHA, Financial Tracking Service (2024).
06At a glance
At a glance, with 5 related topics
Humanitarian action and displacement at a glance
risksacademy.comhazards-resiliencediscipline
- Open, 0
- In preparation, 3
- Also taught here, 1
- Subtopics, 8
Nexus Standards it teaches and relies on
The Nexus Standards the discipline teaches toward, grouped by master standard, with the disciplines that teach each.
nexustandards.com/humanitarian · 2 taught
Humanitarian Action and Development
NRS-D3 Humanitarian response and resilient recovery; NRS-D8 Displacement, migration and mobility risk
2standards1discipline
Nexus Standards at the AcademyThe Academy proposes how each discipline teaches toward the Nexus Standards; the mapping is open for public review.
Research and tools
Research and preprints as they are published, by discipline, with the faculty's other tools.
The hub lists the newest research and preprints for Humanitarian action and displacement, each with its source and date. Open the research hub
Methods, frameworks and hazards
From the Academy's risk taxonomy: the discipline's own entries and those of its primary courses, with how many courses teach each.
Hazard families
- Armed conflict and violence1 course
- Forced displacement1 course
Frameworks and standards
- Sphere Handbook1 course
What is changing now
Recent developments in humanitarian action and displacement, each with its source; sources checked on 16 October 2026.
Courses in this discipline
Courses for this discipline are in development; until they open, study it through the connected courses and open lessons below.
Courses with this primary disciplineIn preparation
- RAF-114The Humanitarian System and Crisis ResponseIn preparationFoundation, L1 Introductory, 8 hours (estimate)
Courses from connected disciplines that also teach this field
Each course has its primary discipline elsewhere and teaches this field as part of its scope.
From connected disciplinesIn preparation
- RAF-118Conflict, Fragility and Disaster RiskIn preparationFoundation, L1 Introductory, 8 hours (estimate), primary discipline: Conflict, fragility and security
07Labs
How the subject is practised in labs
| Lab | What you do in it | Courses using it |
|---|---|---|
| Map lab | Read hazard, exposure and boundaries on real maps | 2 |
08Console
How Humanitarian action and displacement is taught, as a process you can run
Press Play to run this process from this page's own data.
09Practice
Practice, learning and connections
How technology helps and what risk it brings
Achievements in this discipline
Pathways that teach it
Where the subject is practised
- The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI Canada)Society and Human DevelopmentHumanitarian and displacement, Humanitarian risk
- The Global Risks Forum (GRF)Diplomacy NexusHumanitarian cooperation, Migration and displacement
Field platforms of the ecosystem where the subject is studied and applied.
The three Foundry systems where it is practised
- FoundryNXS-NST systemField coordination of a humanitarian responseFieldOps room
- NXS-AAP systemAnticipatory humanitarian actionReadiness room
- NXS-GRX systemDisplacement and needs dataData room
Foundry system pages describe what each system and its rooms are designed to do; the courses teach the methods these systems apply.
Disciplines it depends on
- Department of Disaster Risk Reduction and Early WarningEarly warning and anticipatory actionThe discipline covers people-centred early warning systems across their four pillars: risk knowledge.
- Faculty of Finance and EconomicsDisaster risk financeDisaster risk finance plans in advance how the costs of disasters will be met.
Across the ecosystem
10Take part
Take part in Hazards, Disasters and Resilience
Start from who you are.
11References
Core references and where to begin
Start with Pictet, then Sphere Association, then Barnett.
12Questions
Questions, answers and key terms
Is study here free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the courses in humanitarian action and displacement?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.
Key terms
Term
Humanitarian principles
Humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, which guide humanitarian action.
Term
Cluster approach
The sector-based coordination system for humanitarian response.
Term
Sphere standards
Minimum standards for humanitarian response in water, food, shelter and health.
Term
Internally displaced person
A person forced to leave home who has not crossed an international border.
ReportsContribute
Contribute evidence from this page.
Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.
Risk Academy
Related
Around Humanitarian action and displacement
Humanitarian action and displacement
Prepare with a related course
Open courses in connected disciplines teach the methods this discipline will build on.