The images he, along with the rest of us, sees round-the-clock on CNN and posted on the Internet are eerie, almost otherworldly.

Places, signposts, of those happy growing-up years spent in Katy, Tex., are instantly familiar.

And yet …

“It’s insane to think about,’’ admits Bo Levi Mitchell. “I mean, I know that city front and back, like the back of my hand.

“To know those areas …

“There are some deep ditches around those areas for those reasons, to help out. I’ve been down there when there’s been some flooding.

“But even with some of the flooding in some of those restaurants, it might get up to your ankles. To see where it’s at now, if you’re sitting in your chair in that restaurant, it’s at your chest.

“It’s pretty crazy.

“Some of the pictures and videos I’ve seen … the I-45 going out to Richmond, I mean, it looks like an ocean. Waves with whitecaps caps on top of them.

“Like one of these movies, the end-of-the-world kind of thing.

“Just praying for everybody down there.”

Katy lies 48 kilometres or a 31-minute drive down the I-10W into the smack-dab centre of Houston, being battered by the malevolent forces of Hurricane Harvey.

The hometown of the Calgary Stampeders’ MOP quarterback hasn’t been spared residual damage.

At the Mitchell family compound, sandbags ring the house and all furniture has been lugged upstairs, in case.

“My father, my stepmother, my two step-sisters, then my brother, his wife, my two nephews and then my little brother (live in Katy). My little brother, he evacuated, went to Conroe, he’s got some friends out there. His entire storage facility got flooded and he lost all his stuff.

“But everybody’s doing really good. Can’t leave the house yet. I mean, the water the last couple days has been halfway up the driveway. Yesterday it got up to the door but didn’t get in.

“They said (Tuesday) the rain really slowed down and you could start to see the water recede so that’s a bright spot in the tragedy, I guess.

“They’re trying to stay strong, be smart about it and they’ve got contact people in case anything bad happens.

“It’s a helpless feeling, I mean, even if I flew down there I don’t know if I could get into the city. I’d have to find someone with a boat.

“To not be able to help my family … but they’re all in good spirits right now. I know my junior high just got turned into a shelter and my dad and stepmom found a way to get some blankets and stuff out there.

“Just about community coming together.”

There is, however, a small refuge in the normality of coming to McMahon Stadium every day and preparing like it’s any other week, even if in fact it is anything but for so many family members and friends.

“Man, it might sound selfish but I try and use football as my getaway. When I get here, I block myself out from (what’s) going on there. Always there’s a thought in the back of my head that something bad could happen. I’m always thinking of my family. But my family’s strong.

“I know the guys in my family, not only are they going to help our family, they’re going to help the families around them.

“I have faith in those guys.”

As devastating as Harvey’s impact has been, in the face of such devastation, the outpouring of support, of assistance from both near and far, the banding together regardless of those differences that normally pry people apart, has been nothing short of inspirational.

In the darkest of hours, the best in humanity seems to shine through.

“Thankful to all the people helping out,’’ says Mitchell.  “The people from New Orleans who drove down in motorboats, floating around trying to help.

“That’s where I see the beauty of the human race. That’s where I see true love. I don’t care what colour you are, what gender you are or anything like that.

“When it comes down to ‘Do you need a hand?’ I’m going to reach out my hand and help you.

“Texas is very big in that sense. We are very welcoming to other people. When situations like this come along … you’ve got a lot of heroes down in Texas. When this kind of thing happens, they want to step up and help.

“It’s huge to see.”