Civil Defence forum lines up disaster management specialists

Managing major flooding emergencies complete with crocodiles invading households is not the everyday experience of disaster management specialists in New Zealand.

But for Wellington-based Red Cross disaster welfare support team volunteer Mark Richards it was all part of the picture during his emergency response volunteering amidst major December 2015 flooding at Daly River in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Mr Richards is among speakers talking on a range of specialist emergency and disaster management topics at Northland’s annual Civil Defence Emergency Management Forum in Whangarei next month.

The Daly River flooding, Zika mosquito virus, Royal New Zealand Navy Cyclone Winston Response in Fiji and threats posed by a nearby-generated tsunami are all on the agenda for the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group event on Thursday 12 May.

Commander Simon Rooke, Commanding Officer of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Canterbury will talk about the Navy’s aid work in Fiji following Cyclone Winston.

Mark Goodman, Northland District Health Board integrated operations and emergency manager, will speak about what a health pandemic would mean for the North and the mosquito-borne virus Zika.

“The forum is Northland’s major one-stop-shop conference feature bringing together some of the latest information of interest to those in the region’s Civil Defence Emergency Management industry,” says Graeme MacDonald, Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Manager.

The forum is being held at Forum North in Whangarei. It starts at 9am and is also open to interested general public.