The psychological toll of recovering the bodies of flood victims in Texas is drawing increased attention as the death toll grows.

In the Austin area, 12 people are still missing and 16 are known to have perished after rain swept away homes along rivers and creeks.

The first weather emergency alert sent by the National Weather Service with urgent language instructing people to "seek higher ground now" was sent at 4:03 a.m. local time.

Hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in Texas dimmed Tuesday, a day after the death toll surpassed 100, and crews kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath. The search efforts benefited from improving weather.