Seahawks' Houston natives watch 'worst come true' with Harvey

Germain Ifedi warms up before a scrimmage during Seahawks training camp, Monday, Aug. 7, 2017. Germain Ifedi warms up before a scrimmage during Seahawks training camp, Monday, Aug. 7, 2017. Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Seahawks' Houston natives watch 'worst come true' with Harvey 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

RENTON -- The practice fields on the tranquil shores of Lake Washington seem about as far away as possible from the devastation caused by hurricane/tropical storm Harvey, but for several Seahawks players, the impact of the disaster is hitting far too close to home.

Harvey has dropped more than 9 trillion gallons of rain on Texas since making landfall on Friday, leading to catastrophic, unprecedented flooding in Houston and surrounding areas. The storm seems destined to be among the most destructive natural disasters in U.S. history.

The Seahawks roster includes five players from in and around the nation's fourth-largest city -- free safety Earl Thomas, defensive end Michael Bennett and offensive linemen Germain Ifedi, Joey Hunt and Tyrus Thompson. And while each is doing his best to stay focused on preparing for Thursday's preseason finale at Oakland, thoughts of home are just below the surface.

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Ifedi, the team's first-round pick in 2016 and the likely starter at right tackle for the coming season, said he's been keeping tabs on family in friends in the area, including his parents and an older brother.

"When we're out here playing football, it's about football," he said. "But I know when I step off the field I'm still a man, I'm a son, I'm a brother, so you check on your family, hope they're OK and just pray for the best."

"This is something I can relate to, something I understand, because I've been through it," Thompson said. "So you really just hope that everybody's OK, but at the same time I've got a job to do here. I've got to provide for my own family."

Both Ifedi and fellow second-year pro Hunt said their families were located in areas where the flooding wasn't as bad as expected, but Hunt admitted trying to focus on football was difficult at times.

"I was really just more nervous last Friday and Saturday when the actual hurricane was coming through," Hunt said. "I'm still worried about them because they're still on flood alert. You don't know. It's pretty scary just knowing my family's down there. They should be alright."

Thompson, who grew up in Pasadena southeast of Houston, said he'd been keeping up with family and friends on social media, so he knows most are safe. His family had enough experience with flooding caused by storms that his parents moved to Austin after Hurricane Rita hit the city in 2005 -- the third time the family's home flooded.

"It's tough," he said. "You lose everything when that kind of stuff happens. Everything is ruined. There's rats and stuff in the house and snakes and all kind of stuff."

A reserve lineman who joined the team a week ago after being released by Carolina, Thompson said many of his friends left the city ahead of Harvey to head to places like Dallas or Austin.

"I mean, you know (the storms) are coming and sometimes people don't know how bad they're really going to be," he said. "Some people decide to stay, but obviously that can be a big mistake. I think you're better safe than sorry -- just leave. But some people want to stick it out and it's really unfortunate sometimes when the worst comes true."

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But Ifedi, the only one of the five who grew up in inner-city Houston, agreed with the city's decision not to issue mandatory evacuations.

"To try to evacuate a city like Houston would cause mass chaos and disaster," he said. "You'd have to do it weeks in advance. It's just too many people, not enough infrastructure. Texas is a spacious place, but there no infrastructure that can lead millions of people out of the city. There's just no way."

Ifedi knows the damage from the storm will be immense, but he said he was pleased to see the city's response and was hopeful there wouldn't be significant loss of life. (As of time of publication, the storm's death toll stood at 15.)

"Houston is a strong city and Texas is about helping each other, so a lot of people down there have really been lending a hand to each other and really helping each other out during hard times," he said.

Seattlepi.com reporter Stephen Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8313 or stephencohen@seattlepi.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @scohenPI.