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Photos: Scenes from the deadly tornadoes in the South and Midwest

By Virginia Lozano
Published December 11, 2021 at 1:46 PM EST
<strong>Tues., Dec. 14: </strong>Susan Orten grieves as she inspects her destroyed home in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.
CHANDAN KHANNA
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AFP via Getty Images
Tues., Dec. 14: Susan Orten grieves as she inspects her destroyed home in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.

Updated December 12, 2021 at 9:45 PM ET

Multiple tornadoes struck late Friday night and Saturday morning, tearing through several states including Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas.

The storms have left hundreds of miles of devastation in their wake. In Edwardsville, Ill., a tornado ripped through an Amazon Distribution Hub, leaving at least six people dead. At least 70 people have died in Kentucky alone, the governor said, and the death toll there may rise to more than 100.

A mammoth search and recovery effort is now underway across the region, while those who survived begin the difficult task of surveying what's been lost and what it will take to rebuild.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

<strong>Tues., Dec. 14: </strong>Debris lies outside a damaged home in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.
CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Tues., Dec. 14: Debris lies outside a damaged home in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.
<strong>Mon., Dec. 13: </strong>Search and recovery teams work in the rubble at the site of a candle factory devastated after extreme weather hit the region, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Mon., Dec. 13: Search and recovery teams work in the rubble at the site of a candle factory devastated after extreme weather hit the region, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Mon., Dec. 13:</strong> People stand on a water tower that collapsed during Friday's tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Mon., Dec. 13: People stand on a water tower that collapsed during Friday's tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Mon., Dec. 13: </strong>In this aerial view, crews clear the rubble at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory after it was destroyed by a tornado three days prior, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Mon., Dec. 13: In this aerial view, crews clear the rubble at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory after it was destroyed by a tornado three days prior, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Mon., Dec. 13: </strong>Bowling Green, Kentucky residents, Jose Maldondo, Alexis Martinez, and Giovanni Morales set up to give out free food to tornado victims after extreme weather hit the area, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
GUNNAR WORD / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Mon., Dec. 13: Bowling Green, Kentucky residents, Jose Maldondo, Alexis Martinez, and Giovanni Morales set up to give out free food to tornado victims after extreme weather hit the area, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
<strong>Mon., Dec. 13: </strong>Volunteers help Martha Thomas, second left, salvage possessions from her destroyed home, in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the region, in Mayfield, Ky
Gerald Herbert / AP
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AP
Mon., Dec. 13: Volunteers help Martha Thomas, second left, salvage possessions from her destroyed home, in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the region, in Mayfield, Ky
<strong>Mon., Dec. 13: </strong>A home is badly damaged following a tornado three days prior, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brandon Bell / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Mon., Dec. 13: A home is badly damaged following a tornado three days prior, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>Tamara Yekinni hugs a friend outside a shelter in Wingo, Ky.
Robert Bumsted / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: Tamara Yekinni hugs a friend outside a shelter in Wingo, Ky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12:</strong> Nursing home assistant Loretta Duggin walks down a hallway in the Monette Manor nursing home on December in Monette, Arkansas.
Brandon Bell / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sun., Dec. 12: Nursing home assistant Loretta Duggin walks down a hallway in the Monette Manor nursing home on December in Monette, Arkansas.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12:</strong> Bogdan Gaicki surveys tornado damage after extreme weather hit in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Sun., Dec. 12: Bogdan Gaicki surveys tornado damage after extreme weather hit in Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>In this aerial photo, destruction is seen along Reelfoot Lake in the aftermath of tornadoes that through the region, in Samburg, Tenn.
Gerald Herbert / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: In this aerial photo, destruction is seen along Reelfoot Lake in the aftermath of tornadoes that through the region, in Samburg, Tenn.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>In this aerial photo, people stand on the porch of a destroyed home in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the region, in Dresden, Tenn.
Gerald Herbert / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: In this aerial photo, people stand on the porch of a destroyed home in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the region, in Dresden, Tenn.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>The front steps of a house are all that remains after a tornado in Dawson Springs, Ky.
Michael Clubb / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: The front steps of a house are all that remains after a tornado in Dawson Springs, Ky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>A family photo lays among the debris inside of a house after a tornado in Dawson Springs, Ky.
Michael Clubb / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: A family photo lays among the debris inside of a house after a tornado in Dawson Springs, Ky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>A dog sits in a cage next to a sleeping man inside a shelter in Wingo, Ky.
Robert Bumsted / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: A dog sits in a cage next to a sleeping man inside a shelter in Wingo, Ky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>Tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
Sun., Dec. 12: Tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12:</strong> Homes and business are reduced to rubble after a tornado ripped through Mayfield, Kentucky.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sun., Dec. 12: Homes and business are reduced to rubble after a tornado ripped through Mayfield, Kentucky.
<strong>Sun., Dec. 12: </strong>A cleanup worker walks past damaged trees and debris at the end of the day in Mayfield, Ky.
Mark Humphrey / AP
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AP
Sun., Dec. 12: A cleanup worker walks past damaged trees and debris at the end of the day in Mayfield, Ky.
People help retrieve items from a destroyed home Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Ky.
Mark Humphrey / AP
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AP
Sat., Dec. 11: People help retrieve items from a destroyed home in Mayfield, Ky.
A home reduced to rubble on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio
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St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: A home reduced to rubble in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Firefighters survey tornado damages in downtown Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brett Carlsen / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sat., Dec. 11: Firefighters survey tornado damages in downtown Mayfield, Kentucky.
Chris Buchanan, right, lures dog Cheyenne from a tornado-damaged home with help from Niki Thompson, left, in Mayfield, Ky., on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021.
Mark Humphrey / AP
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AP
Sat., Dec. 11: Chris Buchanan, right, lures dog Cheyenne from a tornado-damaged home with help from Niki Thompson, left, in Mayfield, Ky.
A damaged home which was lifted from its foundation and vehicles on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio for NPR
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St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: A damaged home which was lifted from its foundation and vehicles in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Staff sergeant Nicholas Sullivan, of Martin, Tennessee, moves debris away from a pathway alongside other U.S. Army volunteers on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio for NPR
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St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: Staff sergeant Nicholas Sullivan, of Martin, Tennessee, moves debris away from a pathway alongside other U.S. Army volunteers in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Damaged USPS trucks on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, sit behind the post office, which was reduced to rubble, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio for NPR
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St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: Damaged USPS trucks sit behind the post office in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Duke Traux, 33, of Elizabethtown, Illinois, cuts a downed tree with a chainsaw while Isaiah Keys, 18, of McCracken, Kentucky, picks up pieces on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio for NPR
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St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: Duke Traux, 33, of Elizabethtown, Illinois, cuts a downed tree with a chainsaw while Isaiah Keys, 18, of McCracken, Kentucky, picks up pieces in Mayfield, Kentucky.
An American flag is propped against debris on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio
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St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: An American flag is propped against debris in Mayfield, Kentucky.
General view of tornado damaged structures in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Brett Carlsen / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sat., Dec. 11: General view of tornado damaged structures in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation on Saturday at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Ill.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio
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Brian Munoz/St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation on Saturday at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Ill.
Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation on Saturday at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Ill.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio
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Brian Munoz/St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation on Saturday at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Ill.
Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Ill.
Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio
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Brian Munoz/St. Louis Public Radio
Sat., Dec. 11: Workers attempt to clear debris as part of a search and rescue operation at an Amazon Distribution Hub in Edwardsville, Ill.
Damage from a tornado is seen in downtown Mayfield, Ky.
Mark Humphrey / AP
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AP
Sat., Dec. 11: Damage from a tornado is seen in downtown Mayfield, Ky.
<strong>Sat., Dec. 11: </strong>In this aerial photo, a collapsed factory is seen with workers searching for survivors in Mayfield, Ky., after tornadoes came through the area the previous night.
Gerald Herbert / AP
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AP
Sat., Dec. 11: In this aerial photo, a collapsed factory is seen with workers searching for survivors in Mayfield, Ky., after tornadoes came through the area the previous night.
Interior view of tornado damage to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Mayfield, Ky.
Brett Carlsen / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sat., Dec. 11: Interior view of tornado damage to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Mayfield, Ky.
A Kentucky National Guard helicopter surveys the tornado damage near Mayfield Consumer Products on Saturday in Mayfield, Ky.
Brett Carlsen / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sat., Dec. 11: A Kentucky National Guard helicopter surveys the tornado damage near Mayfield Consumer Products on Saturday in Mayfield, Ky.
A classic Chevrolet sits amidst a tornado destroyed building on Saturday in Mayfield, Ky.
Brett Carlsen / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Sat., Dec. 11: A classic Chevrolet sits amidst a tornado destroyed building on Saturday in Mayfield, Ky.
People work at the scene of a train derailment after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes in Earlington, Ky.
Cheney Orr / Reuters
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Reuters
Sat., Dec. 11: People work at the scene of a train derailment after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes in Earlington, Ky.
Local residents walk past the scene of a train derailment after devastating tornadoes in Earlington, Ky.
Cheney Orr / Reuters
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Reuters
Sat., Dec. 11: Local residents walk past the scene of a train derailment after devastating tornadoes in Earlington, Ky.
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Virginia Lozano
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