Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had asked President Donald Trump to sign a disaster declaration, which would unlock federal aid for those affected.

More than 50 people have died and dozens of children are missing in Texas Hill Country after catastrophic flooding, leaving officials struggling to explain if they had done enough to warn people of the fast-rising waters.

The danger has extended to Travis, Williamson and Burnet counties, where very dangerous flash flooding is ongoing Saturday morning. Between 5 and 12 inches of rainfall has fallen there, the weather service said, calling it a "Particularly Dangerous Situation with life-threatening flash flooding."