New Zealand cliffs collapse in Christchurch earthquake

Cliffs have collapsed in New Zealand during an earthquake in the city of Christchurch on the South Island.

No serious damage or fatalities were reported in the Valentine's Day quake that struck at 13:13 local time (00.13 GMT).
Beaches to the east of Christchurch were busy with swimmers and surfers when rocks began to fall into the sea.
The 5.7 magnitude quake occurred days before the anniversary of a deadly one in 2011.
That destroyed the city centre and killed 185 people.
New Zealand lies on the notorious Ring of Fire, the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.
 Image caption The earthquake, classified as severe, lasted less than 30 seconds3

New Zealand's seismological body GNS Science classified Sunday's earthquake as "severe", recording that it took place at a depth of 15km (nine miles) and 15km to the east of the city.Resident Stephen O'Dwyer said he was on the beach with his wife walking their dog when the cliff in Sumner started to collapse.

"The ground started to go soft. Water was coming up under the sand and people were sinking down to the ankles as the ground went soft. It shook for about 20 seconds," he told the BBC.

The quake sent large clouds of dust billowing over the suburb.
 

The cliff that collapsed was in the coastal suburb of Sumner 

"I have to say that it was business as usual 15 minutes after the fact," said local Richard Loffhagen, who took a photograph of the dust and debris rising from Scarborough Beach.
During the tremor, which was reportedly felt across the South Island, some shops in Christchurch were evacuated and photos on social media showed items that had fallen off shelves.
A Polish couple posted a clip on YouTube showing the cracks their house suffered, saying it was their first experience of an earthquake in Christchurch and they had not expected it to be so intense.

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Severe earthquake south of New Zealand felt as far north as Dunedin

GEONET

The location of this morning's 6 magnitude quake.

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People as far north as Dunedin are reporting feeling a "severe" earthquake which struck far to the south of the country.
The 6 magnitude earthquake hit at 8.28am, 175km southwest of Snares Islands at a depth of 10km.
Geonet had recorded seven felt reports as of 9.02am. It was classified as "severe".
Several people in Southland and at least one in Dunedin have reported feeling the quake.
On Facebook, Irene-Síomhaith West said she felt the earthquake in North East Valley in Dunedin.
"Jolted me awake when it hit."
Department of Conservation operations manager for Murihiku Tony Preston said no DOC staff or members of the public were on Snares Island, and it was believed no-one was on any of the sub-Antarctic islands at the moment either.

Dozens Of Guns & Over 20,000 Rounds Of Ammo Seized From 2 Muzzies In Greece After Crossing Turkish Border | Another Caught With 200,000 Rounds

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“Greece’s coast guard has reportedly arrested two “heavily armed” British men carrying more than a dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from Turkey, a top security official said.

A high-ranking security official told AP that the suspects were both Iraqi-born British subjects in their 20s. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the ongoing investigation.

The two were arrested Saturday night by coast guard officers near the port of the Greek city of Alexandroupolis, off the Turkish border.
The two suspects were driving a trailer loaded with more than a dozen guns of an unspecified type and well over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, the security official said.”
Read More: https://www.rt.com/news/332404-greece-turkey-arms-smuggling/
“THESSALONIKI, Greece – Greek police say they arrested a British citizen on the main border crossing to Turkey carrying a large weapons cache.
The 40-year-old suspect is an Iraqi Kurd, a police official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation. Police say they seized four air rifles, eight scopes and 200,000 .22-caliber bullets.”
Read More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/02/14/suspect-arrested-with-guns-bullets-at-greece-turkey-border.html

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Hong Kong riot police fire warning shots in bloody street clashes

Hong Kong riot police fired warning shots on Tuesday during clashes that erupted in the Chinese-ruled city when authorities tried to remove illegal street stalls set up for Lunar New Year celebrations, the worst violence since pro-democracy protests in 2014.
Demonstrators prised bricks from the sidewalk to hurl at police, while others toppled street signs and set fire to rubbish bins in Mong Kok, a tough, working-class neighborhood just across the harbor from the heart of the Asian financial center.
"We have noticed a shift in some members of the public," said Hong Kong Police Commissioner Lo Wai-chung. "(They) have an inclination to use violence or radical acts in order to express their opinion."
Nearly 90 police sustained injuries ranging from fractured bones to lacerations and bruises and 54 protesters were arrested, Lo said. Hong Kong television showed police officers being beaten with poles and sticks as they lay on the ground.
Many protesters and police were also shown with blood streaming down their faces.
Police said two warning shots were fired into the air, with pepper spray and batons also used to disperse the crowd. Television footage showed the shots were fired as protesters surrounded traffic police, pelting them with rubbish, bricks and bottles and wrestling one of them to the ground.
Lo said the life of the officer who fired the shots was being threatened. He also said there would be a full investigation into the incident.
The remains of burned bins and flower pots, chunks of brick and broken bottles lay scattered along the Nathan Road shopping strip, which leads to the harbor at Tsim Sha Tsui. A taxi with shattered windows was parked nearby.
The narrow streets in and around Mong Kok were the scene of some of the most violent clashes during protests in late 2014 to demand greater democracy for the former British colony that returned to Beijing rule in 1997.
The violence broke out after police moved in to clear illegal vendors who sell local delicacies, trinkets and household goods from makeshift streetside stalls.

Related Video

Riot police, protesters clash over Hong Kong street vendors

The hawkers, a common sight on Hong Kong's bustling streets, quickly attracted a strong social media following under the hashtag #FishballRevolution.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said the government strongly condemned the violence. Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said police were investigating indications the clashes had been organized.
The protesters had dispersed by 8 a.m. (7.00 p.m. ET on Monday) but more than 100 had confronted police in a tense, pre-dawn stand-off during the Lunar New Year holiday, when most of the city is shut down.
Police said they did not expect another riot on Tuesday night, when new year fireworks are planned over the harbor, but they were boosting manpower nonetheless.
Hong Kong Indigenous, a "localist" group that is fielding a candidate in a Legislative Council by-election in a few weeks, was involved in the protest, though it was not immediately clear the role it played or the extent to which it was involved.
The group said on its official Facebook page and confirmed to Reuters that its candidate, Edward Leung Tin-kei, had been arrested.
Many so-called localists remain deeply embittered by the lack of any concessions from Beijing or Hong Kong authorities during the 2014 protests. Television footage showed protesters on Tuesday shouting: "Establish a Hong Kong country!" during running battles with police.
The clashes in December 2014 came when authorities cleared the last of pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets after more than two months of protests that had presented Beijing with one of its greatest political challenges in decades.
(Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree, Bobby Yip and James Pomfret; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)

An unidentified injured man is escorted by riot police at Mongkok in Hong Kong, China February 9, 2016.

Reuters/Bobby Yip

2/06/2016 -- Colorado shaken up by M4.0 earthquake at Fracking / Oil pumping operation

Deadly earthquake topples buildings in Taiwan city of Tainan

An earthquake has toppled buildings in the south Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing at least 11 people.

The magnitude 6.4 quake struck just before 04:00 (20:00 GMT Friday) when most people were at home asleep.
A baby was among at least four people killed when a high-rise building, containing 100 homes, collapsed.
At least 30 people remain missing. Tainan's mayor said people were alive but trapped under the rubble and all means would be used to rescue them.

President Ma Ying-jeou, who toured the city of two million, said shelters would be set up for those who had lost their homes.

Leaning ruins

Television pictures showed rescue workers frantically trying to reach people trapped in collapsed buildings, using ladders to climb over piles of rubble.
One of the worst affected was the 17-storey Wei Kuan apartment complex, home to at least 256 people.
More than 200 people were rescued, but a baby, young girl and two adult men did not survive, officials said. At least 70 people were taken to hospital.
Interior Minister Chen Wei-jen said he feared more people may have been in the fallen apartment block than usual as families gathered to celebrate Chinese New Year.
He said investigators would examine whether the building's construction met requirements.



Residents told how they were able to escape from their homes in the block, using their own tools and ladders.
"I used a hammer to break the door of my home which was twisted and locked, and managed to climb out," one woman told local TV.
Another man tied clothes together to make a rope and lowered himself from the ninth floor to the sixth floor below, Apple Daily reports.
One Tainan resident said his bed turned over as the wall collapsed. "My home completely turned into debris. I didn't know what was happening. I was really frightened as I have never seen such an earthquake," he said.
A 35-year-old woman described how she and her two children were pulled from the rubble.
"Rescue workers broke through (the building) layer by layer. And they asked us to climb out but I said my children are too small to climb. So they dug a bigger hole. Then one rescue worker tried his best to climb in and take the children out. Then I slowly climbed out myself," she said.
 


The quake was shallow, meaning its effects would have been amplified, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
There have also been at least five aftershocks. The quake was felt in the capital Taipei, 300 km away.
Although the damage does not appear to be widespread, a number of tall buildings have been left leaning precariously.
There are also reports of power outages, and transport links have been disrupted on what is one of the busiest travelling days of the year ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and often sees tremors.
Beijing has offered assistance although at the moment at least, given the relatively limited scale of the disaster, it does not look as if much outside help is needed, the BBC's John Sudworth reports from the Chinese capital.
Back in 1999, when a 7.6 magnitude quake killed more than 2,300 people in central Taiwan, a similar offer of help from the mainland became embroiled in political wrangling, with Taiwan accusing China of exploiting the situation for its own political ends, our correspondent adds.