PHILADELPHIA -- Fortunately, Phillies outfielder Nick Williams' family and friends are among the lucky ones.
Williams said he has been in regular contact with folks back home near Galveston, Texas, where he attended high school. Hurricane Harvey has brought catastrophic floods to Southern Texas, including Galveston and Houston. Tens of thousands are expected to seek emergency shelter, and hundreds of thousands are expected to require federal aid because of the disaster.
The Phillies' rookie said his family and friends are OK.
"It's just sad. It's home," Williams said Monday. "But everyone I've talked to is safe. A lot of them are just trying to help, honestly, to help the [other] families that are stranded. I've seen a lot of them with waders on, just walking through the water, trying to help in any way."
Williams said he has received numerous photos from friends and family which have been startling.
"I have some pictures of five minutes down the road from [my parents], and it's really bad," he said. "Today, I've messaged at least 10 people, because I've seen them helping people, and asked, 'Is that Galveston? Is that Galveston?' And they're like, 'No, it's the outskirts.' But still I have a lot of friends and family that don't live in Galveston, and it's just crazy. My cousin yesterday told me that he begged his parents to leave. They left a couple hours before the flooding got really bad.
"It's crazy. I've seen the aftermath of [storms], and it ruined lives. I remember my uncle's place got destroyed, and it took them a long time before their house was ready. Staying in a hotel and all those things and dealing with FEMA is a hassle. All of those things take time and it's really sad."
Williams said his childhood home was destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008, although his family had moved out of the house a year earlier.
"The house we live at now, the flooding hasn't gotten in the house yet, but I know it's up to the driveway," Williams said. "I remember when [Ike] hit in 2008, I think we missed two months of school because of our high school was flooded. It's scary. It's sad. There's nothing you can do about it. You just have to wait it out."