FEW CAN UNDERSTAND HOUSTON’S AGONY BETTER THAN GIANTS’ FLUKER

D.J. Fluker watches the tragic, heartbreaking images out of Houston, and knows all about the pain and suffering.

A dozen years ago, it was him and his family escaping the full fury of Katrina just in time, but not her wrath.

His home in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward was destroyed when he and his family were able to return there. While displaced on a journey that took them to Biloxi, Miss. and then Mobile, Ala., he and his mother, brother and two sisters lived part of the time in their Ford station wagon, and rummaged through Dumpsters for food.

“Being through Hurricane Katrina, dealing with that issue, I’m wishing for the best for ’em,” Fluker told The Post. “I know it’s hard right now because a lot of people don’t have cars, and lost everything — home, clothes, shoes, everything — everybody’s struggling right now — so I just pray for them and their families.

“Other than that, all I can tell ’em is just keep praying, and hopefully something happens in the next few days.”

Fluker, a Giants right guard and tackle, was 14 during his Katrina ordeal.

“Harvey looks a whole lot worse,” Fluker said.

Fluker flashes back to his family’s evacuation.

“You can see the water levels coming over the bridge and everything,” he recalled. “It got dark real early outside during that day. A lot of thunder. My mom, she wanted to stay, ’cause she was talking about Hurricane Ivan — our house survived Hurricane Ivan — I was like, ‘We need to leave! This may not be the best thing for us.’ ”

His mother did the driving in the traffic.

“We ended up in Biloxi to rest for a while,” Fluker said. “I’ll never forget, it was traffic from Biloxi all the way to Alabama. We finally made it to Alabama that same night.”

Because there was no power, no cell phone usage, the Flukers lived in their station wagon.

“On top of that, we had no gas either,” Fluker said. “We were just kinda winging it ’til everybody got their power restored, basically.”

They eventually found temporary refuge at their Aunt Jamie’s house. She had gotten a generator, and the television blared the horrific news about what used to be their home.

“It flooded the whole Ninth Ward. Everything was gone,” Fluker said.

He refers to Hurricane Harvey victims when he says: “So I understand what they’re going through.”

Aunt Jamie’s house served only as a fleeting stiff-arm to homeless shelters and their station wagon.

“We would still go to her house to take a shower, but it was crowded,” Fluker said. “After a certain time, you don’t want to overstay your welcome, so you gotta find where you need to go, and go from there. ... We were homeless for a little while.”

His mother, a single parent, had lost her job at a hotel. There was no money. They scavenged for food. Young Fluker weighed 400 pounds at the time.

“Strawberries. ... I remember eating ham and cheese, just random stuff,” Fluker said. “Food markets throw things away, so that was kinda like the idea for the time being.”

About a month after Katrina, Fluker revisited his former home.

“I remember a lot of our clothes, our baby pictures, all gone,” he recalled. “Basically just total like annihilation, really.”

Fluker was asked how heartbreaking that was for him.

“The best thing in the world is being able to have your bed,” he said, “so it makes you really grateful for what you lost.

“When I saw this happen to the people in Houston, I was just like, ‘I know how that feels.’ ”

He went on to become a profile in courage, resilience and perseverance, starring at offensive tackle at the University of Alabama, then becoming a firstround draft choice of the Chargers even after another body blow.

“That tornado hit Tuscaloosa, I lost everything again,” Fluker said.

His thoughts turn to the people of Houston.

“I get how they feel about everything,” Fluker said. “I lost everything twice. I had no clothes, and the school had to help me get donations in to get school clothes, things like that. “So I understand. Totally.” What advice would he give to the people of Houston?

“The only thing I can tell ’em is just to keep praying,” Fluker said. “I just hope they find work pretty soon, and get back on their feet. I know it’s hard right now, I know there’s a lot of kids crying right now, and I get that feeling.” He will not stand idly by. “My [former Alabama and Giants teammate] Kevin Norwood, we were talking about donating to a charity yesterday,” Fluker said Tuesday. “So I’m gonna donate some money to them, and some of the families down there. So that’s what I’m looking forward to do.”