A t least 48 people are dead in central Texas in what officials called a "mass casualty event" after devastating flash floods slammed Hill Country, with water rescues taking place along the Guadalupe River.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an expanded emergency declaration that added Texas counties impacted by the disastrous flooding. The new declaration now includes Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Travis and Williamson counties, Abbott said at a press conference Saturday afternoon.