Stephen B. Thornton/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette AP
Joy Carrington arranges a display of 318 pairs of infant shoes on the steps of the Arkansas Department of Health in recognition of September as National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, Thursday, Sept. 29 in Little Rock, Ark. The shoes symbolize the 318 infants who died before their first birthday in the state of Arkansas in 2009.
This is a pretty eloquent way to make a point about infant mortality.
It's difficult to avoid becoming hardened to scenes of tragedy. We see so much of it, because it’s relatively easy to transmit pictures around the world. I’ve experienced some of this today, as I’ve looked through all the tornado images and edited our slideshow.
The pictures that have affected me this afternoon are the ones of people returning to their shattered homes and picking through the debris. Some people are practical. They’re recovering clothing, food and even toilet paper. But others are searching for precious, familiar objects: a piece of jewelry, a valuable antique, a one-of-a-kind family photo. I hope the survivors find what they need to help them through the coming days.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
Residents recover possessions from a destroyed apartment building in Joplin, Mo. on May 25, 2011. The death toll from a monster tornado that ravaged Joplin rose to 125 on Wednesday after an overnight search turned up more bodies. The tornado that wrecked up to a third of the city of 50,000 on Sunday was upgraded to an EF-5, or the highest rating possible on the Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado power and intensity.
Mark Humphrey / AP
Sandra Pommert reacts to finding a photograph of her parents' farm among the rubble of her sister's tornado-demolished house on May 25, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. Her sister, Judy Flenner, is recovering after having a mild heart attack following Sunday's storm.
Chris Landsberger / AP
Charles Sleeper stands in what was his bedroom on May 25, 2011 after it was destroyed by Tuesday's tornado west of El Reno, Okla.
Tannen Maury / EPA
Ryan Millikan, center lifts a container to Nick Wongratananajcha, left, as they help Lee Morris gather his possessions three days after a killer tornado ravaged neighborhoods in Joplin, Mo.
Charlie Riedel / AP
Ashley Hailey salvages items from her devastated home in Joplin, Mo. on Wednesday.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
Volunteers carry a crib from the wreckage of a church in Joplin, Mo. on Wednesday.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Theresa Mayfield ,right, helps her cousin Elizabeth Vandenberg salvage a couch from the living room of her home after it was destroyed when a tornado passed through the town on May 25, 2011 in Denning, Ark. The storm passed through the town damaging many of the homes as the region continues to deal with deadly tornados.
Tannen Maury / EPA
Tim Bartow looks in the window of his bathroom as he gathers possessions three days after a killer tornado ravaged neighborhoods in Joplin, Mo. Officials have begun restricting access to the areas affected and are enforcing a nighttime curfew.
Chris Landsberger / AP
Miranda Lewis smiles as she recovers the height growth marker for her six-year-old son Copper on Wednesday. It was among the rubble left behind after the home was destroyed by Tuesday's tornado west of El Reno, Okla.
Mark Humphrey / AP
Travis Blizzard, left, salvages items from his car with the help of friends Matt Jordan, center, and Dylan Shyler on May 25, 2011 in Joplin, Mo.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
Carrie Clark holds her cat in her destroyed apartment in Joplin, Mo on May 25, 2011. Clark said she last saw him moments before Sunday's deadly tornado and had found him only minutes before this picture was taken.
From Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem "The Two Rivers"
Wayward and wistful; with one hand we cling to the familiar things we call our own,
And with the other, resolute of will, grope in the dark for what the day will bring.
Danny Johnston / AP
A golf course at Newport Country Club in Newport, Ark., is covered by floodwater Thursday, May 5.
Who says Mother Nature doesn't have a sense of humor?
Tom Gilbert / AP
A person tries to dig out near Grove, Okla. on Wed, Feb. 9, 2011. Another powerful blizzard howled through the nation's midsection Wednesday, piling up to 2 feet of new snow on parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas still struggling to clean up from last week's epic storm.
Kevin Pieper / The Baxter Bulletin via AP
Katy shakes snow off her face Thursday, Jan. 20. 2011 in Mountain Home, Ark., while playing with her owner Sharon Stevens. Nearly 4 inches of snow fell in Northern Arkansas Thursday.
Chris Graythen / Getty Images
Jordan Hall #7 of the Ohio State Buckeyes is tackled by five Arkansas Razorbacks defenders in the fourth quarter during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome on January 4, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images
Brian Rolle #36 of the Ohio State Buckeyes holds the trophy as the Buckeyes celebrate their 31-26 victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome on January 4, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
What a totally weird thing to have happen. I wonder what would have caused such a thing? Do you think it could have been related to the strong storm system that moved through the area yesterday?
You can read the story here.
Warren Watkins / The Daily Citizen
A dead bird lies on Skylark Street in Beebe, Ark., on Saturday, Jan. 1. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday more than 1,000 dead black birds fell from the sky in Beebe. The agency said its enforcement officers began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. Friday.
Warren Watkins / The Daily Citizen
A worker with U.S. Environmental Services, a private contractor, picks up a dead bird in Beebe, Ark. on Saturday, Jan. 1, as more can be seen on the street behind him. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday more than 1,000 dead black birds fell from the sky in Beebe. The agency said its enforcement officers began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. Friday.
April L. Brown / AP
Paige Sizemore, 18, of Lincoln, Ark., sits on the foundation of a home behind a makeshift cross made from debris after a tornado tore through the small town of Cincinnati, Ark., on Friday, Dec. 31. A tornado fueled by unusually warm winter air sliced through parts of northwestern Arkansas early on New Year's Eve, killing three people, injuring several others and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.
Read the full story here.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Georgia Baker, a member of the Four States Search and Rescue team, follows her cadaver search dog "Stryker" on the banks of the Little Missouri River in Langley, Ark., on Sunday, June 13. Search crews recovered 18 bodies and were hunting for others on Sunday along a 10-mile stretch of the river after a flash flood swept through a popular Arkansas campground on June 11.
See more images from the tragedy HERE
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