'I was terrified!'
Published:Friday | February 25, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Jamaican netballer says New Zealand quake was scary experience
Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer
Frightened, scared and terrified were some of the words used by senior national netballer Kasey Evering to describe her horrific experience when a massive magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday.
Evering is currently in the New Zealand city representing Canterbury Tactix in the ANZ Netball Championships.
"I was shocked and scared because I have never experienced something like it before," Evering told The Gleaner from New Zealand yesterday. "I was wondering if I was going to die, leaving my son."
Evering said she, along with the rest of her teammates, was at a meeting close to the city where the earthquake hit.
"We were all there when the place started shaking, but they (New Zealanders) are kind of used to having these earthquakes and so most of the players weren't scared," she recalled.
"But, I was so scared. I went under one of the tables in the room, but that table broke and I went under another one, and it also broke," she said.
Evering added that she, along with her teammates, ran downstairs in an effort to get outside, but while on their way, the steps began shaking as well.
"I had to jump off one of the steps, but luckily for me I wasn't hurt and I was able to get outside to the car park," she said.
"While in that area, the ground opened up and I saw a van, which was parked close by drop into it and everyone was so devastated by what we saw, we ran back inside the building."
They all stayed inside until the earthquake was over.
Evering said the aftershocks have also been a nightmare for her.
"I could not sleep the night after the earthquake because every half an hour the place was shaking and this was scary for me," she said.
She also stated that none of her teammates suffered any injuries during the earthquake and that her apartment in which she lives in Redwood, which is a 10-minute drive from Christchurch, was not damaged.
Evering, who last represented the Sunshine Girls last month against world number-one Australia, noted that despite the experience, she has no plans to return home anytime soon and will finish the season, which runs until May, with her team.
The 29-year-old, who represents Tivoli Gardens in the Jamaica Netball Association senior league, said she has received support from her family and friends.
Up to yesterday, almost 100 people had been confirmed dead as a result of the earthquake.