Christchurch move unfortunate timing

Wanganui woman Hayley Kubiak moved to Christchurch only a few weeks ago for a new job.
On Tuesday, she and her brother, Sam, a Christchurch resident, were pulling glass from their hair, lucky not to be victims of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake.
"They were walking along near the cathedral when it struck. Debris was flying everywhere. The angels were certainly looking after them," said Hayley's father, Philip Kubiak, manager of Wanganui Property Brokers.
The pair escaped with a few cuts and bruises.
Hayley, who worked for Wanganui District Council and is now with Environment Canterbury, has St John's training and quickly went to work helping the injured.
Mr Kubiak said Hayley and Sam, a music student, were left badly shaken by their ordeal, as were older siblings Matt and Marisia.
Marisia was in the supermarket when the earthquake hit and items flew off the shelves.
"Matt works for a computer company, and he got out, badly shaken, but safe," Mr Kubiak said.
Sam was still too upset to talk yesterday morning, but they were all safe and that was the main thing, Mr Kubiak said.
After the September earthquake, Matt and Marisia returned to their parents' home to escape the constant aftershocks. They and their children were traumatised.
"We'll probably do the same again when they've settled down," Mr Kubiak said.
All four children were staying with relatives in Rolleston as Matt and Marisia's houses suffered significant damage. The shakes were weaker out there, but they still did not get much sleep.
Mr Kubiak said his brother lost his house and some tough decisions would have to be made about rebuilding.
It was too early to say whether his real estate company would be offering to accommodate or fly people up from Christchurch, but he said he knew there were people who "just want to get out".
Mr Kubiak said he knew of two Christchurch people who had bought houses in Wanganui in the past few weeks, adding that they would probably be feeling a bit lucky right now.
Ross Watson of The Watsons said it was still too early to determine whether people would move from Christchurch, but he doubted there would be much of an influx of people heading to Wanganui.
He said he thought born-and-bred Cantabrians would stay put.
Mr Watson had cousins in Christchurch and was so far unable to get through to them.
NZ Red Cross area manager Adrienne Transon said donations for earthquake victims had been coming in, with one person donating more than $600 at the Wanganui office in Guyton St.
The Red Cross would keep its office open for the rest of the week, from 10am to 2pm.
Ms Transon said the earthquake had coincided with the annual "See Red" appeal week, so there would be collectors on the streets. To give specifically to the Canterbury earthquake appeal, people could donate at the Red Cross office, making sure they made clear which fund they wanted their money to go in to, or at the Red Cross website.