Tornadoes' apocalyptic aftermath

A tornado's trail is visible in this satellite image of Tuscaloosa, Ala. The death toll from the storms that swept through several Southern states this week rose above 340, making it the second-worst loss of life from tornado activity in U.S. history.

Cars and homes lay in ruins in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 29, 2011, two days after a tornado ripped through the area.

A path of debris from homes and trees is seen down Chaucer Street on April 29, 2011 in Pratt City, Ala. Alabama was the hardest-hit of six states.

A truck lays on its side in Tuscaloosa, Ala., April 29, 2011.

Workers repair electrical cables in a tornado-stricken neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 30, 2011. Two days after the storms, a million people in several states were without power.

A truck crushed by a fallen tree is seen in the tornado-stricken neighborhood of Forest Lake in Tuscalosa, Ala., April 30, 2011. Residents are reeling from the worst U.S. tornadoes in nearly 80 years.

Heavy equipment clear debris in the Forest Lake neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 30, 2011.

AP Photo/The Decatur Daily, Gary Cosby Jr.

Devastated homes are seen through a garage of another devastated home in Magnolia Terrace Friday, April 29, 2011, east of Athens, Ala., as families try to dig out and salvage what remains of their belongings.

AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Dan Henry

Brad Kidd, left, and Chris Womack stare at what is left of their two mobile homes Friday morning, April 29, 2011, while cleaning up from a fatal tornado that struck DeKalb County, Ala., on Wednesday.

A house sits mostly intact more than 100 feet from its foundation, after a tornado dragged it across a lawn near Rainsville, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011.

Residents left homeless by tornadoes come for a meal, water, clothes and other necessities at a makeshift care center set up in front of a destroyed housing project in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011. Thousands are left without homes after the Wednesday storm destroyed much of Tuscaloosa.

AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter

Pedestrians walk past businesses destroyed by Wednesday's tornado in Alberta City, Friday, April 29, 2011, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama arrived in devastated Alabama to console victims, while authorities worked to overcome damaged infrastructure and even a shortage of body bags in one town.

Residents drive past the tornado-damaged Church of God in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011. Wednesday's tornado destroyed the church and much of the small community; 27 people were killed.

A wheelchair rests in the roofless hallway of tornado-stricken Hackleburg High School in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011. A tornado Wednesday destroyed all the town's schools among other public buildings and homes.

The debris-strewn hallway shows some of the severe damage at Hackleburg High School in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011.

A tornado drill map rests on the wall of the newer classrooms at Hackleburg Elementary School in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011.

James Nicholas surveys the damage in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011, following a tornado touchdown Wednesday afternoon that destroyed much of the small community.

A water tower stands amid the damage in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011.

An emotional Donna Fredericks, right, cries as she hugs a former worker, Martha Mitchell, while they speak about mutual friends at the VF Jeans Wear Distribution Center in Hackleburg, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011. Wednesday's tornado destroyed much of the small community.

Jerry Cox combs the remains of his stepson Willie Boardwine's mobile home that was destroyed during the tornado, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Glade Spring, Va. A series of twisters that swept through the state this month have made 2011 the second-deadliest year in Virginia for tornadoes since 1950, the National Weather Service said Friday.

An aerial view of tornado damage as residents of Tuscaloosa, Ala., continue the process of cleaning up, Saturday, April 30, 2011.

Volunteer Rachel Shugart searches the rubble for valuables in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, April 30, 2011.

AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, right, stands with Seth France, 26, in front of the rubble where France's grandmother was killed by a tornado, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Glade Spring, Va.

Tornado survivors clean up in Bethel, Va., Friday, April 29, 2011.

An American flag lays across rubble of a mobile home grouping that was destroyed by Wednesday's tornado, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Glade Spring, Va.

Concrete steps lead to remains of a tornado-demolished mobile home in Preston, Miss., Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The home and one next to it were blown about 100 feet away into a cow pasture. Three related women died at the site.