5.7 magnitude quake strikes Christchurch - cliff collapses in Sumner

#christchurch #earthquake #wellington #sumner A quake of 5.7 magnitude struck Christchurch and it struck a week before the fifth anniversary of the deadly 6.3 magnitude earthquake which killed 185 people on February 22, 2011. However, this time, there are no casualties or serious damage or injuries except for a cliff that has fallen down in Sumner.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 14 February 2016.
The epicenter of the severe quake was 15-Km east of the city and was felt as far north as Wellington. The first quake was followed by another, moderate one with a 3.5 magnitude at 10-Km north-east of the city. Aftershocks are believed to be continuing.

There are reports of shelves falling in homes, shops and libraries and two malls, the Riccarton Mall and Northlands Mall, have both been evacuated. As per fire services, there are reports of liquefaction and a burst water mains in Pines Beach, near Kaiapoi. There was also flooding with power lines down in New Brighton.
As a result, the National Crisis Management Centre has been activated. Emergency services have indicated that a cliff had collapsed in Sumner and power has been lost to 450 customers between Burwood and Spencerville and at 100 homes in Akaroa. There is a police cordon at Scarborough Hill blocking access to the fallen cliff.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Indian origin witch doctors fleeing from New Zealand

Indian origin witch doctors have been doing a roaring business in New Zealand conning vulnerable and superstitious people. One woman from the Indian community had apparently paid a "six-figure" sum to a shaman to help her out of her miseries. But, with threats of deportation hanging over their heads, they are trying to leave the country.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 28 July 2015.

As informed by Pratima Nand, a community leader who has helped to blow the whistle on the witch doctors says that these persons are now fleeing the country in droves because they are under threat of deportation.
Pratima has received complaints from people who had believed witch doctors could help with finance, business, love, health and even immigration issues. Some of the victims had even handed over personal details and photos to the witch doctors.
One witch doctor is understood to have pledged to help a woman but after she forked out $1800 he disappeared. When the "patient" went to him for a planned follow-up visit, she found the door locked and his business closed.
These witch doctors have established themselves across New Zealand in cities outside South Auckland like Wellington, Hamilton and Christchurch. and the scale of their business was bigger than previously acknowledged.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Auckland girl sweet talks thief to return stolen mobile phone

#auckland #christchurch #dunedin #ToyotaCorolla #sweettalk A girl of Auckland has managed to sweet talk a thief to have a change of heart and return the stolen mobile phones. The girls were students of University of Otago and the thief had stolen their handbags from a carpark in Christchurch carpark this month. But, they sweet talked the thief to return the stolen phones.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 26 March 2015.

They had gone to Christchurch to attend the 21st birthday party of a friend and had left their possessions in a locked car while they went to visit the New Brighton Pier on their way back to Dunedin on Sunday, March 15. When they returned to their Toyota Corolla car they discovered that someone had picked the lock.
However, while most of their luggage was still there, their four handbags were missing – inside those handbags were their wallets, passports, IDs, bank cards and the mobile phone of one of the girls.
Therefore one of the other girls rang up the missing phone and sweet talked the thief to return the stolen items at Spencer Beach Holiday Park – this was about 16-Km north of where it was taken from.
The thief agreed and warned – next time, take the handbag along with you.

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Pakistan cricket player complains of ghosts in his hotel room in Christchurch

#HarisSohail #christchurch #ghost # CricketWorldCup 26-year-old Pakistani cricket player and an upcoming player has seen ghosts in his hotel room in Christchurch. He has, reportedly, been "traumatized" and unable to train after complaining of a supernatural presence at his Christchurch hotel room.
The Pakistan team is in New Zealand on a tour to play some warm-up matches ahead of the Cricket World Cup and have been staying at Rydges Latimer Christchurch. The city had been devastated in the earthquake and the hotel was built on the site.
On seeing the ghost, Haris Sohail "freaked out". He believed that a ghost had pushed him while he was asleep. He phoned the team management and by the time they came he had developed a high fever. As a result, the team bosses convinced hotel management to change his room. It seems he has not been able to practice and take part in warmup matches with the team.
The hotel had been built after the February 22, 2011 earthquake – the disaster claimed 115 lives when the multi-storey Canterbury Television building collapsed. That was situated just 100m away.
Incidentally, last year, Stuart Broad, the English cricket bowler, claimed to have experienced similar supernatural interactions and got his room changed at The Langham hotel in London after the authorities were convinced there were ghosts his room.