Orlando Magic Guard Jonathon Simmons Recounts Harvey Escape
Orlando Magic guard Jonathon Simmons recounted his escape from Hurricane Harvey, saying he had to "ride a boat, walk through muddy water and ride on the back of a dumpster truck" to get away from the rising waters that have flooded Houston over the past week.
Simmons, a Houston native, told his story to the Magic's website.
"It’s devastating," said Simmons. "Luckily, none of my family was seriously affected, but I see a lot of my friends suffering and that’s difficult. But I’m also proud of how the city of Houston has come together to help one another. On the upside and the brighter side, there’s that seeing how people have been there to help one another."
Simmons said he left his condo in downtown Houston to go over to a friend's house in nearby Richmond on Saturday before the hurricane made landfall.
He packed food and supplies for three days, but another friend's house flooded and they soon joined Simmons at the friend's house.
"So that gave us another 11 extra people and most of them were kids. We had to let the kids eat first, so most of the last two days it was kind of rough (without food)," Simmons says.
"There was at least 20 people in the house and probably eight of them were kids. When I was little, my mom always kept the fridge full of stuff (during hurricanes). This time, I ate a pack of ramen noodles and that’s all for like a day-and-a-half."
The friend's house never flooded, but Simmons and his group had to evacuate in order to leave the area.
Simmons, 27, spent the last two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs before signing a three-year deal with the Magic.
