NBA player Jonathon Simmons said he and his family and friends escaped from the Houston-area floodwaters this week by boat, walking through muddy water, and a ride on the back of a dump truck.
Simmons, who hails from Houston and lives in a downtown condo, signed with the Orlando Magic during the offseason. He spoke with the Magic's website about his ordeal that included surviving on a pack of Ramen noodles for more than a day.
Simmons said he and his family left his condo Saturday afternoon and went to a friend's house, which was positioned on a hill.
"I had bought all of these air mattresses and covers and blankets and food and water for everybody. We were good for three days, but my other friend's house had started getting flooded early, so he came there to the house, too. So that gave us another 11 extra people and most of them were kids," Simmons said.
"We had to let the kids eat first, so most of the last two days, it was kind of rough [without food].
"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."
Simmons said the group eventually decided to leave the house and seek shelter elsewhere, so he contacted a musician friend who sent his boat to pick everyone up.
"Luckily, I had a friend in the area who could help us out," he said.
"We still had to ride a boat, walk through muddy water and ride on the back of a dumpster truck for like five miles. It was crazy. I had to hold up my people and I had some kids with me. Most of the kids were old enough to walk, but one of them I had to carry with me."
Thousands of people are going through similar experiences in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana in the wake of massive flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, which is now classified as a tropical depression. More than four feet of rain has fallen on the area.
The death toll related to the storm has surpassed 30.
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