Hurricane lashes hometown of former Eastern Washington football star Bo Levi Mitchell
Former Eastern Washington football star Bo Levi Mitchell is struggling to keep his mind on the game.
While his hometown of Katy, Texas, is battling to hold back the floodwaters caused by Hurricane Harvey, Mitchell is thousands of miles away in Calgary, Alberta – and feeling helpless.
At the home of his father and stepmother, the water covers the driveway and threatens their home.
“Sandbags have gone out, they’re trying to protect it from getting inside the house,” Mitchell said. “They’ve put all the furniture upstairs, so everybody’s doing all right.”
Two of Mitchell’s brothers, who live near Houston, face the same challenge.
Mitchell, the quarterback of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, wants to help.
“It feels helpless not to be able to get down there and do that,” Mitchell told a Calgary radio station. “It’s pretty scary, but I’m staying in contact with the family just to make sure everybody’s OK.”
The worst isn’t over, as rain continued to fall Tuesday afternoon in the greater Houston area. Thousands have been evacuated.
FEMA has predicted up to 30,000 people will be placed in emergency shelters and Texas officials have confirmed eight deaths related to the hurricane.
On social media, Mitchell lamented the loss of landmarks from his childhood, including a restaurant in Katy.
“I went to breakfast here all the time … this is crazy,” Mitchell posted on Twitter.
Heavy wind and rain lashed Katy, leveling homes and businesses in the town of 16,000.
Mitchell also was touched by a picture of a highway full of trucks, pulling small boats headed from Louisiana to Texas,
“It was everybody coming in from New Orleans to help,” Mitchell tweeted. “It just shows how strong everybody is together when tragedy happens.”
Mitchell is also encouraging those who want help by contributing to the online fundraiser being put on by Houston Texans star linebacker J.J. Watt, where people can donate $10 by texting Harvey to 90999.
Watt’s original goal of $200,000 was quickly reached, so it was increased to $500,000 and is now at $4 million.
“Man this is awesome this is the platform athletes have in order to help the greater good!” Mitchell tweeted Tuesday afternoon.