Couple's retirement home uninhabitable

JON HICKS

SURVEYING THE SCENE: Some of the damage at Rex and Vina Arbuckle's Tai Tapu house.

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The Tai Tapu house Rex and Vina Arbuckle have lived in for 18 years is now uninhabitable, but they just say "that's life".

The home they bought for their retirement is still standing, but the foundations and floors have moved, parts of the ceiling have collapsed and the garden now features cracks and patches of sand. 

Daughter Jo Arbuckle was staying with her parents, who are in their 80s, when the earthquake struck. She said it was "very lucky" the bedrooms at the back of the house were not affected and no one was injured.

"Mum was really calm. I was panicking, I wanted to run outside, but Mum said no - what about the trees?"

The trees may have stayed upright, but the house itself could be beyond repair.

"A builder came out to look at the house on Saturday and said after 30 years in the building industry he hasn't seen anything like it. We don't know what's holding it together."

The family dog also survived the earthquake unharmed, despite mounds of mud and sand appearing around his kennel.

Ms Arbuckle said initially her parents wanted to stay in the house, even with no power and water, but were told it was not safe to stay.

"They didn't think they'd ever have to move again - not under these circumstances anyway."

Instead the family planned to stay with their son in Westmorland until the weekend, when they could then move into a house they had managed to find available for rent in Tai Tapu.

Ms Arbuckle said the neighbours seemed to fare better, but people were "noticing more and more that maybe there's more damage than they thought".

Mr Arbuckle said they hoped to rebuild the house, but had to wait for an official assessment. However, even if the property was deemed safe for rebuilding, the work could take up to a year.

"We thought we lived in paradise... but that's just life," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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