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Luke Axtell navigates flood-ravaged streets to help rescue folks from their homes in Houston

Luke Axtell paused as he spoke into his cell phone while standing on dry land just a few feet from the flooded streets of hurricane-ravaged Houston late Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m out of breath, man,” the 6-foot-10 former University of Kansas basketball player said in a five-minute phone conversation with The Star. “I’m at a shopping center watching a whole family come back to shore now.”

He and four co-workers left the safety of the Austin area — where Axtell lives — for Houston on Saturday with boats and supplies in tow, in response to Hurricane Harvey, which has has ravaged the fourth-largest city in the United States.