President Biden declares a major disaster in Texas

President Joe Biden has declared a significant disaster in Texas, clearing more federal funds to be spent on relief efforts in the US state.

Power is returning across Texas, and temperatures are set to rise, but at least 14 million people still have difficulty accessing clean water.

President Biden has said he will visit Texas as long as his presence is not a burden on relief efforts.

Nearly 60 deaths have been attributed to cold weather across the US.

The administration had already declared a state of emergency for Texas, along with Oklahoma and Louisiana.

In a statement on Texas released by the White House, President Biden said he had "ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms".

"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programmes to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," the statement said.

President Biden has been in touch with the mayors of some of Texas' biggest cities, such as Houston, Austin and Dallas, to ensure they have access to government resources, an administration official said.

Several other southern states hit by snow and ice storms this week have also reported water service outages.