Stranded bakers work day and night making bread for Houston flood victims

Stranded by floodwaters, four workers at a Mexican bakery produced thousands of loaves to feed the hungry victims of Hurricane Harvey.

When the floodwaters started rising in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, four workers at El Bolillo Bakery in the south of Houston discovered they had no way of leaving the building at the end of their shift.

Instead, they just kept on baking.

When Kirk Michaelis, the owner of the Mexican bakery, finally reached the store two days later he discovered his workers had baked their way through 18,000kg of flour, producing thousands of bolillos (Mexican sandwich bread), kolaches (a Czech pastry) and their signature pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread).

It was one of the only bakeries in the city not to lose power or be flooded. 

Michaelis decided to give away the loaves of bread to those in need, his daughter Meagan Michaelis said.

"Dad was able to get to them because he has an old jeep which is jacked up a little higher," she told the BBC.

"He used it to take the bread to the first responders who were able to share it out at centres in the city where people who've been flooded out are staying."

The bakery, which produces 100 different types of bread and cakes each day, has continued to make bread for residents who have been made homeless by the flooding.

"We've been using the jeep to take boxes and boxes of bread to local centres, and churches and a local old folks home because there's no bread in the supermarkets," Ms Michaelis says.

Many of the bakery staff and their families are also victims of the flooding, but have turned up to work every day.

"Many have been flooded and have no clothes or bed and are staying with friends but still they show up for work," she says.

"They're incredible people."

Ms Michaelis has set up a GoFundMe page to help their employees who have lost cars, homes and valuables rebuild their lives after getting requests from people touched by their dedication.

So far more than US$8,000 (A$10,000) has been raised for the employees.

And the bakers have been hailed as heroes on social media.