Charlie Riedel / AP
Alan Perez, from Wilmington, N.C., seeks shelter from the sun under an umbrella while holding a stop sign to close a road for debris removal Tuesday, July 19 in Joplin, Mo. Despite a recent heat wave, crews continue to clean up nearly two months after an EF-5 tornado destroyed much of Joplin.
The low camera angle makes something striking out of an everyday scene. Full story.
Hot weather slideshow.
Mike Gullett / AP
Building material debris collected from homes and businesses destroyed by the tornado that struck Joplin, Mo, is dumped at Jordan Disposal Service, Galena, Kan., on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. The landfill has around 350 truck loads of building materials being dumped there daily.
Cleaning up after the tornado is still keeping people busy in Joplin. Here are images of the tornado's impact previously published on PhotoBlog.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Katlyn Wilkins, in tree, and Andrea Wilkins Morelli work on securing an American flag on May 29, as they deal with the destruction caused by a massive tornado that passed through Joplin, Mo., May 22, killing at least 139 people.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images
US President Barack Obama pauses while speaking at Missouri Southern University May 29, during a memorial for victims of the Joplin, Mo., tornado. Victims of the tornado continue to recover as 2011 becomes the deadliest year for tornadoes since 1953. The death toll stood at 142 one week after the tornado cut a path of death and destruction through the heart of this town of 50,000.
From the AP:
Face to face with the legions of homeless and the bereaved, President Barack Obama on Sunday toured the apocalyptic landscape left by Missouri's killer tornado, consoled the community and committed the government to helping rebuild shattered lives.
"We're not going to stop 'til Joplin's back on its feet," Obama vowed. A memorial service where Obama spoke punctuated a day of remembrance one week after the disaster, as authorities pressed on with the task of identifying the victims and volunteers combed through wreckage of neighborhoods where nothing was left whole.
The service erupted in cheers when Obama said, "I promise you your country will be there with you every single step of the way," a pledge he extended to all parts of the nation raked by violent storms this season.
Read the full story here.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
The remains of a destroyed tree are seen five days after a massive tornado passed through the town killing at least 132 people on May 27, in Joplin, Missouri.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
Stephen Dickson stands in front of his parent's home while on the lookout for looters at dusk five days after a massive tornado passed through the town killing at least 132 people on May 27, in Joplin, Missouri. Although the house has no roof, Dickson sometimes sleeps in the home to protect it from looting. The town continues the process of recovering from the storm which damaged or destroyed an estimated 8,000 structures.
Great seeing by Getty Images photographer Mario Tama. We have more images from Joplin here.
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.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
Kyle and Alicia Gordon embrace in what's left of their son's room after losing their home to a devastating tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., on Tuesday, May 24.
Charlie Riedel / AP
A neighborhood destroyed by a powerful tornado in Joplin, Mo., on Tuesday.
Related content:
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Debris from destroyed homes are seen after a massive tornado passed through the town in Joplin, Missouri.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
A destroyed home is seen in Joplin, Missouri two days after a massive tornado ripped through the town. Rescue workers are searching for survivors as the threat of further storms still looms.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Early tuesday morning Carra Reed looks at a friend's home that was destroyed when a massive tornado passed through the town on May 22, in Joplin, Missouri. 116 people are known to have been killed and authorities expect the death toll to climb in the town of 50,000 people. Rescue workers are searching for survivors as the threat of further storms still looms.
For more images of the devastation in Joplin, Mo. click here.
Rescue crews are hoping for the best but fearing the worst as they continue to search for more survivors in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo. TODAY's Al Roker reports.
Charlie Riedel / AP
Ashley Stephens holds a ferret she rescued from the home of a missing woman while helping a friend collect belongings Monday, May 23 in Joplin, Mo. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 89 people.
This is a touching moment. Here's the full story.
Update: AP photographer Charlie Riedel, who also took the pictures below, shares his thoughts about photographing people after this disaster:
In all the years that I have covered disasters, from fires to hurricanes to tornados to the oil spill, I don’t think I have ever run into anyone who doesn’t feel a little bit happy that someone is taking an interest in their life and story. A lot of the time I will approach someone who is sorting through what is left of their house, and they are very talkative, very appreciative of my taking an interest in them. Part of that may come from the fact that a victim may feel like an insignificant speck amongst a huge disaster -- and this disaster is immense. So when someone takes an interest in them, they respond. I did a lot of work on the 2007 Greensburg, Kan., tornado, rated an EF5. Last night’s tornado strikes me as Greensburg on steroids. The sheer immensity of it all is what struck me. You can look anywhere and see total and utter devastation.
Charlie Riedel / AP
Storm clouds dwarf a farm near Lamar, Mo. as the sun sets Sunday, May 22, 2011. The storm earlier produced a large tornado moved through much of Joplin, Mo., damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Charlie Riedel / AP
Anita Stokes salvages meat from a freezer at her home that was destroyed by a tornado in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 23, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 89 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Charlie Riedel / AP
A shelf cloud containing a thunderstorm approaches a tornado-ravaged neighborhood in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 23, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital, hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 89 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Charlie Riedel / AP
An emergency worker searches a Walmart store that was severely damaged by a tornado in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 22, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Continuing coverage in our slideshow.
Earlier PhotoBlog posts on the Joplin tornado.
Jaime Green / The Wichita Eagle via AP
Damage to St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., is shown after it was hit by a tornado on Sunday, May 22.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
Emergency personnel walk through a neighborhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22. A large tornado moved through much of the city, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses.
Read more about the storms here.
Update: Getty moved this nice image of the Presson family after the levee explosion cut them off from their farm.
Earlier posts: the spectacular nighttime explosion last night and archival photos of when the levee was blown in 1937.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
Roy Presson embraces his daughters Catherine and Amanda as they stand on the edge of State Highway HH looking out at their family farm on May 3, at Wyatt, Missouri. The Presson home and 2,400 acres of land that they farmed was flooded last night when the Army Corps of Engineers blew a massive hole in a levee at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to help save the town of Cairo, Illinois. Residents of Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and Arkansas are bracing for record flooding from the two rivers.
Below is a daylight view of Mississippi County, Mo. after the Bird's Point levee was blown last night.
Jeff Roberson / AP
Part of the 130,000 acres of farmland flooded by an intentional break in the Birds Point levee is seen Tuesday, May 3, in Mississippi County, Mo. Army Corps of Engineers' blew a two-mile hole into the levee in southeast Missouri to take pressure off the rising Mississippi and Ohio rivers and try to protect nearby Cairo, Ill.
David Carson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP
In this image taken from video, an explosion lights up the night sky as the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blows an 11,000 foot hole in the Birds Point levee in Mississippi County, Mo. on May 2. Army Corps of Engineers' Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh gave the order to blow a two-mile hole into the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri, which will flood 130,000 acres of farmland in Missouri's Mississippi County but protect nearby Cairo, Ill.
WYATT, Mo — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers exploded a large section of a Mississippi River levee late Monday in a desperate attempt to protect the Illinois town of Cairo from rising floodwaters.
The corps says the break would help Cairo by diverting up to 4 feet of water off the river. As of Monday evening, river levels at Cairo were at historic highs, creating pressure on the floodwall protecting the town. Continue reading.
Jeff Roberson / AP
Volunteers work to place sandbags atop a temporary levee to fight back floodwaters as lightning from a thunderstorm is seen in the background on Tuesday, April 26, in Dutchtown, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri.
For more images from the severe storms across the U.S. click here.
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