Jonathon Simmons, who signed the Orlando Magic this summer, is a Houston native. He has been in the city over the past few days, and he had to be rescued by boat after the rising floodwater reached he and his family’s home.
Jonathon Simmons shares story of Hurricane Harvey rescue by local Houston rapper
Fortunately, Simmons and his family are safe.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
As detailed by the Orlando Magic’s John Denton, Simmons’ family and friends were rescued by Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth, who came to their aid with a boat. Here’s what Simmons said:
``Trae Tha Truth, the rapper, is from Houston and we know a mutual friend from San Antonio. They brought a boat to Houston because (Trae) had to evacuate as well,’’ Simmons said of the rapper, who has gained additional notoriety recently in Houston for helping dozens of others evacuate flooded areas. ``They came and got (Trae) and then he came and got us right away. Luckily, I had a friend in the area who could help us out.’’
You can see Trae’s rescue efforts on his Instagram, among other places.
Simmons also told the Magic’s team site about this weekend when Hurricane Harvey — later downgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey — hit the coast.
``Saturday night it started raining about 8 o’clock, but we had gotten over there about 3 o’clock just to be safe,’’ Simmons recalled on Wednesday morning. ``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. 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,’’ Simmons added. ``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 also hasn’t been able to reach his high rise apartment downtown since he doesn’t have transportation, but the most important thing from several long days is that him, his family, and his friends are safe.
You can read the full report of what Simmons has gone through here.
