Thousands still without power, water in Texas

Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale opened the doors of his Gallery Furniture stores around Houston during Hurricane Harvey for people to seek shelter and he's doing again during a catastrophic cold snap and winter storm that's brought Texas to its knees.

Power outages lasting longer than 24 hours are forcing people to seek warmth. "Mattress Mack's" stores have back up generators and a place for the weary to sleep.

Tina Rios, Eric Bennis and their three children drove in from the Channel View area of Houston after their trailer home park lost power.

"In the trailer there's no insulation or anything like that, so it's cold over there," Rios said.

Bennis was thankful the family had a warm place to shelter until the power comes back on.

"So it's a good thing that 'Mattress Mack' does this, because like she said, we would be at home freezing right now," Bennis added.

McIngvale turned two of his locations into warming centers complete with food, coffee and blankets.

Houstonians know the furniture baron for his quirky ad campaigns and his sometimes boastful Super Bowl bets, but he's also remembered for opening his stores for those in need during times of crisis.

"That's what we do, we all have a responsibility for the well being of the community and we think this is our responsibility," McIngvale said.

He said more than 300 people slept in the north Houston location overnight and he expects more.

Yvonne Woolard and her daughter had power up until early Wednesday morning.  She works in the energy industry and is frustrated that the state is mired in power outages.

"You know they decided not to winterize our plants, so everything is failing," Woolard said. "Something has to be done, somebody has to be held accountable."

Because of the storm and cold, the worst U.S. power outages were in Texas, affecting more than 2 million homes and businesses.

More than 250,000 people also lost power across parts of Appalachia, and another 200,000 were without electricity following an ice storm in northwest Oregon, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility outage reports. Four million people lost power in Mexico.

Texas officials requested 60 generators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and planned to prioritize hospitals and nursing homes.

The state opened 35 shelters to more than 1,000 occupants, the agency said.

More than 500 people sought comfort at one Houston shelter. Mayor Sylvester Turner said other warming centers were closed because they lost power.

Image: AP