Off to lend a hand in Philippines

Dunedin City Council emergency management officer Glenn Mitchell, who will spend Christmas in the Philippines helping the typhoon-hit nation improve communication links.

Part of a Red Cross team, he leaves on Monday for Cebu City, and returns to Dunedin on New Year's Eve.

Mr Mitchell (49) will assist with enhancing telecommunications links, which in a nation comprised of islands was especially important for recovery from a disaster.

He is a member of a Red Cross information technology response team. There are 30 New Zealand IT volunteers. Two are heading to the Philippines on Monday as part of a larger team.

Cebu was relatively unaffected so it was a good place to be based for the communications work, which would include reuniting families split by Typhoon Haiyan earlier this month.