Agency hoping to save lives in the Cook Islands

Bay of Plenty creative agency hoping to save lives in the Cook Islands

A book produced in the Bay of Plenty aims to keep the Mangaian people in the Cook Islands safe as they approach the cyclone season.

The Mangaian Disaster Management Plan was produced and sponsored by Woods the Creative Agency, whose director, Reuben Woods, knows first-hand what it is like to be on the receiving end of a cyclone in the Cooks.

For Reuben and his team, it was an honour to be involved in such an important project. “We love the ocean, and several of us have spent time in the Cook Islands, so we know how serious the threat of cyclones and tsunamis are compared to New Zealand. It’s a great privilege to be able to help our friends in the Cooks by producing a document that can potentially save lives.”

Kale Print, another Bay of Plenty company, also contributed generously to the cost of printing the books, which allow a coordinated response on an island-wide scale, and involve religious and traditional leaders as well as government in the preparation, response and recovery efforts.

Mangaia’s cyclone season typically runs from November to March, but following a particularly bad period in 2005 when 5 destructive cyclones hit the island within 5 weeks, and with several tsunami alerts since, a disaster management plan is now a legal requirement of the Cook Islands government.

The book will be officially launched on the 10th of October, with every household on Mangaia Island set to receive a free copy of the plan.

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