Taranaki involved in Sri Lanka relief effort

The Taranaki Regional Council’s Emergency Management Officer, Mike Langford is joining the international relief operation in Sri Lanka, where nearly 300,000 people have been displaced by the recent conflict.

Mr Langford will work with the international aid organization Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA New Zealand) which will meet all of Mr Langford’s costs.

He will be based in Colombo for up to one month, in an emergency response administration and support role.

Taranaki Regional Council Director-Environment Quality, Gary Bedford, says the experience of being part of a large-scale international relief operation will be invaluable for both Mr Langford and the Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

“The Taranaki CDEM Group puts a great emphasis on training staff to manage and respond to emergency events in Taranaki.

“And while we have had our share of emergencies in recent years, it is not often, thankfully, that our staff get to test their skills in an operation of this scale.

“Mike was recommended to ADRA by a UN representative, and I’m sure that he’ll make a valuable contribution to their response to this humanitarian crisis.

“During his deployment he’ll gain a lot of practical knowledge on managing the response and recovery phases of a major emergency which he’ll be able to apply to his emergency management role in Taranaki.”