Pictures: Aftermath of massive winter storm that devastated Texas

An aerial view from a drone shows electrical lines running through a neighbourhood in Austin. The Texas power grid has returned to normal operations as a historic cold blast eases, but the impact of the deep freeze is still leaving towns without water, homes yet to be reconnected to electricity supplies and highways chocked with ice and snow.

Cars line up to receive free cases of water after the city of Houston implemented a boil water advisory following an unprecedented winter storm. Texas emergency officials are airlifting pallets of bottled water to cities and towns where water supplies were knocked out or disrupted by this week's widespread power failures.

Jay Farrell uses water from his hot tub to flush his toilet as people across the city find themselves without running water after pipes ruptured due to freezing temperatures following an unprecedented winter storm in Houston.

Austin residents wait in line to get water at Meanwhile Brewing Co. While power is being restored across the state, water outages continue to plague Texas. More than 13 million people were affected by disruptions to public water supplies.

Nearly empty shelves in the produce section at a grocery store in Houston.

Employees of San Antonio Water System fill containers for people at a wat.er distribution center set up near the University of Texas at San Antonio campus in San Antonio, Texas

Shane Morning, 32, checks the pipes under his house for leaks while his neighbour Walker Knott, 55, looks on, in Houston.

A fallen tree, in Austin, Texas, damaged a vehicle. US President Joe Biden is set to declare a major disaster for Texas, clearing the way for more federal funds to be spent on relief efforts.

City of Austin Water Utility workers Joey Putman, front, and Salvador Tinajero repair a broken water main near 11th and Red River streets in Austin.

Empty shelves are seen at snack section in Fiesta supermarket after winter weather caused food and clean water shortage in Housto.

Tino Martinez, a plumber, inspects the pipes at Heidi Wuertz’s home as Texas residents face mounting challenges after pipes across the city ruptured due to freezing temperatures following an unprecedented winter storm in Houston.

Zack Rosales (left) and his girlfriend Cynthia Thamez sit beside a backyard fire as their dog Alex sniffs at the snow beside them in Abilene, Texas. The couple had been without power for three days in their home, finally returning the following day.

City workers and volunteers distribute bottled water at Delmar Stadium, in Houston.

People wait in line to fill propane tanks, in Houston.