Photos: The aftermath of Alabama’s deadly tornadoes

A series of brutal tornadoes, packing 150 mile-per-hour (241 km per hour)  winds, have killed at least 23 people in Alabama since they touched down yesterday (March 3).

With recovery and rescue efforts still under way, initial images from social media and news agencies show crushed vehicles, downed trees, and torn-apart homes, as stunned residents take in the damage. Pictures from this morning only give a small sense of scale of devastation across the southern US state.

Ten people in the US died in tornadoes last year, a relatively low number. In 2011, an especially deadly year, 553 were killed by tornadoes.