Houston's system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain a tabletop-flat city prone to heavy rains. "Houston is the most flood-prone city in the United States," said Rice University environmental engineering professor Phil Bedient. Also, Houston's Harris County has the loosest, least-regulated drainage policy and system in the entire country, Bedient said. Harris County didn't leave enough right-of-way space to expand its bayous, Bedient said. inches of rain, Bedient said.

Source: ABC News August 29, 2017 20:49 UTC