When Eric Block stands on the levee near his New Orleans home, he can see the water rising higher than the rooftops.

“It’s a wild place,” Block said.

It got a little wilder Monday night, when Hurricane Katrina hit the area. Block, a freshman on the Illini football team, was 795 miles away in Champaign, but his mother, father and brother were down in Louisiana in the midst of the category 5 hurricane.

Block’s father and brother followed the Mayor’s orders and evacuated the city Monday night, heading for Alabama. The normally two-hour drive to Mobile became an overnight trip, taking more than 10 hours.

“(My dad) said the fastest they got was 28 mph,” Block said.

His mother, Donna, stayed behind in New Orleans. A nurse at East Jefferson General Hospital just outside the city, Donna Block was asked to stay to help after the storm passed.

“She was brave enough to do it,” Block said.

He doesn’t know if his house in Medderick is still standing; there’s no way to get to it. He hasn’t heard how his high school in downtown New Orleans made out. He says all he knows is that his family is safe, but that it’s all that matters.

“All you can do is pray,” Block said. “You’re really helpless at a time like this.”

Block said he’s been through hurricanes before. As Ivan approached last fall, his Jesuit High School football team continued practicing until a few days before the storm hit. When football was cancelled that weekend, every team adjusted to a nine-game schedule.

“You try to just ignore it and move on,” Block said.

Illinois head coach Ron Zook prepared for hurricanes when he was the Saints’ defensive coordinator, and while head coach at Florida. He understands Block’s concerns for his family and his home.

“I can remember my first year (in New Orleans), I was worried about how I was going to get the piano up to the second floor,” Zook said.

“I saw what 100-mile winds do, and it’s scary.”

For now, the offensive lineman is keeping in touch with his family and drawing support from his teammates. He says friends have expressed sympathy and shown concern. Even though he is three states away, the Illini players have offered Block a strong support system.

“I’ve got this whole family around me, really looking out for me,” he said. “It makes you feel good about where you are.