Alabama Tornado PHOTOS: Aftermath Of Massive 2011 Storm

Dozens of tornadoes devastated the South in a massive storm system that has reduced neighborhoods to rubble and killed at least 337 people across 7 states, the AP reports.

The twister outbreak is the second deadliest in U.S. history. The largest death toll ever was on March 18, 1925, when 747 people were killed from storms in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Preliminary government estimates say that there were more tornadoes in a single day during the outbreak than ever recorded in history. Of the 312 twisters that were spawned, 226 occurred within a 24-hour period.

Countless videos have surfaced of the disasters, including a harrowing look at a massive tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and an up-close encounter with a twister in Philadelphia, Missouri.

The photos below show the aftermath of the destructive storms in Alabama, which has been hit the hardest by the deadly tornado outbreak, as well as other states across the South.

CLICK HERE to see how you can help relief efforts across the South.
(This post has been updated to reflect the increased death toll.)

Comments

[myles048]

12:05 PM on 05/30/2011

Why would Obama say we can't forecast these events? Is he lying, or mentally ill?
This video makes the right points: http://larouchepac.com/node/18297

[OhManOhMan]

08:37 PM on 05/07/2011

Thank you humans for destroying this planet Earth. Now you made her mad!

[themuse]

07:32 PM on 05/05/2011

Mother Earth fights back!

[toolman911]

09:27 AM on 05/05/2011

The bad thing is this Government pretends to be concerned yet to those of us that lost our food due to power outages they say tough! No I didn't have a generator and i know it is all my fault for not being prepared!! Yea right we send billions to Pakistan so they can give it to UBL as he lives in comfort but you can't help your fellow americans with food that was lost through a freakin storm.
This crooked government shows me more and more it doesn't matter what party is in control they are crooks working for crooks the American people have no voice.

[Jenn Horner]

12:08 PM on 05/03/2011

Horrible, wish I could help my friends and family that live there.

[William Robert Hayes]

05:52 PM on 05/26/2011

My name is William Robert Hayes and I am 69 years old and I am working on and trying to put together Thanksgiving Dinner for the Tornado Victims and I would like to combine Christmas and Thanksgiving together and call it Thanksgiving Across Alabama.I need to raise enough money to help feed the Tornado Victims and enough money To buy about 2 Tractor Trailer loads of Furniture and a couple Tractor Trailer loads of toys for the kids. And at Thanksgiving and Christmas these family's are not going to have any money and they won't have a home. Knowing that could you sit down at your Thanksgiving Table and look a cross it and see you children about to eat their Thanksgiving Dinner.And then you start to thinking about these Tornado Kids and their family's when something they had no control. So I am hoping you can help me out.Phone Number and Email Address on it. https://sites.google.com/site/thanksgivingacrossalabama/

[southernfriedchick]

02:01 PM on 05/01/2011

If you live across the street from people who no longer live across the street from you because a natural disaster blew them away, please do not say you were "blessed", implying that they were not. I doubt that tornado considered who lived where when deciding which side of the street to wipe out. The next one just might gitcha!

[Gary Lennox]

09:18 PM on 06/14/2011

I do live across the street from people who have suffered great loss in the tornado that destroyed Springfield MA and surrounding towns. I have not used the term "blessed". I have used the word "LUCKY" over and over again. You made a good point.

[junito65]

06:12 PM on 04/30/2011

When Americans (yes, YOU white people) start mocking the disaster in Japan and making basic fools out of yourselves, The Divine One evens the score also. Not so funny when it's in your backyard now is it?

[Nelson Montana]

10:34 AM on 05/01/2011

You are a racist idiot.

[krich218]

11:48 AM on 05/09/2011

If you were even vaguely familiar with the character of "The Divine One", you would not be blaming him for that which He is not responsible for. Get a Bible and study the life of Jesus Christ, and acquaint yourself with the character of The Divine One, then you will realize He is not responsible for disasters in Japan, here or anywhere else. Don't buy into the lie which the real culprit has sold, the masses (even most christians) on. "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all" 1 John 1:5.

[toffee]

04:15 AM on 04/30/2011

Folks, after inspecting all the photos. This proud tea party conservative is totally convinced the liberal are out to smear suffering southerners. All women appeared on these pics were at least 80 lbs over weighted, come on Liberals, stop making fun of the southern people already.

[notatowniegirl]

08:27 AM on 04/30/2011

You have got to be kidding. All these people going through this... you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

[toffee]

11:18 AM on 04/30/2011

Just pointing out the liberal media bias. Was it necessary to only pick out the over weighted southerners? Look again, everyone of them were at least 80 lbs over weighted. I can assure you that there were some whp southern women around, why weren't they in any of those pics?

[Tim Boykin]

02:29 PM on 05/01/2011

You show a lack of compassion and lack of cognizance here by trying to politicize this tragedy.

[Lisa Bee]

04:10 AM on 04/30/2011

I can't believe people are trying to politicize or make this a religious issue. And it's not a disaster competition (Japan) either!! Some of these comments make me ashamed to be a human.

[Eyeful]

06:52 PM on 04/29/2011

OMG! It's like bombs hit these states, only without any fire or flames.

Isn't it past time we focus our tax dollars on domestic disaster support for rebuilding rather than 2 (or is it now 3 or 4) foreign wars? We need to get our priorities straight.

[plainsman]

06:31 PM on 04/29/2011

This aerial footage taken just outside of Birmingham helps put the scale of destruction in perspective.

http://youtu.be/h8SLdLOAM2c

[stunsitfel]

08:05 AM on 04/30/2011

Stunning.

[Sunlogic]

09:49 PM on 04/30/2011

That is insane how wide a path it destroyed, and I would bet this is a small part of the overall picture. This is extremely sad.

[Rick Shreiner]

06:24 PM on 04/29/2011

While one has to feel for the victims of these destructive weather phenomena, the link between American's EXTREMELY irresponsible energy habits, including MASSIVE fossil fuel use, for heating/cooling homes, electricity, and GAS HOGS, and the increase in violent weather conditions cannot be understated.

GOP-baggers, IS THIS STARTING TO MAKE SENSE NOW ? ?
Is the connection beginning to sink in ?

And please, consider the help you will be receiving from your fellow citizens all over America, from all economic levels, when you feel the urge to badmouth "entitlements", and all those "others" that are spending YOUR taxdollars, when they are suffering.

[lapdogs]

06:10 PM on 04/29/2011

I stare at the pictures of destruction and tell myself I have to wake-up and get out of this bad dream.

And then I realize that this is for real and not just a bad dream, where everything comes back to normal.

May God bless every person for any family member losses along with helping the survivors rebuild their houses and find any of their valuable positions like family pictures, that mean everything to them.

[frant52]

05:21 PM on 04/29/2011

This is heartbreaking. I feel so bad for these people.

[Austro-libertarian]

05:20 PM on 04/29/2011

Keynesians: This is great for the economy!

[Paros]

05:25 PM on 04/29/2011

never mind the human destruction I guess.