Tropical storm Harvey: thousands await rescue amid 'catastrophic' flooding

Much of the Houston region’s flood planning is designed for so-called 100-year events, which have a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.

“A flood of this magnitude is an 800-year event and it exceeds the design specifications of our levees, and is potentially dangerous for a good portion of Fort Bend county. A 59ft river level threatens to overtop many of the levees in our area,” Robert Hebert, a senior county administrator, said on Monday. The Brazos river may not crest until Wednesday.

So where did hundreds of people go? To the store. Just off Highway 99 there is an immense outpost of Gallery Furniture, a Houston-based enterprise owned by Jim McIngvale, a local celebrity dubbed “Mattress Mack” who has a penchant for promotional flair.

On Monday, it provided the discordant scene of the bedraggled and frightened fleeing an American nightmare and being cared for in a place that is a shrine to the concept of American exceptionalism.

It was at capacity and two dozen people and pets waited outside for space to become available. In the showroom, kids caromed off mattresses set up as a bouncy castle while flooded or pre-flooded adults lounged anxiously on reasonably-priced settees.

Outside, Veronica Torres, her 13-year-old twins, Lou and Victoria, her sister, Carmen, and their German Shepherd, Charlie, sat patiently. “I don’t know if this is going to be one day, a few days or a week,” Veronica said, resting on a comforter provided by the store. “We’ll just wait it out.”