Scenes From The 2011 Tornadoes

2011 has been a tough year for US residents in areas affected by tornadoes. Most recently, Joplin, Missouri was hit by a massive tornado that is thought to be the deadliest in 60 years.

Earlier in the year, dozens of massive tornadoes tore a town-flattening streak across the Southeastern U.S., killing at least 250 people in six states and forcing rescuers to carry some survivors out on makeshift stretchers of splintered debris.

Although the economic losses are not yet clear, the devastation caused by the tornadoes will surely affect the region for the foreseeable future.

Click ahead for scenes from the 2011 tornadoes.

Updated 23 May 2011

A massive tornado that tore a 6-mile (10-kilometer) path across southwestern Missouri killed at least 89 people as it slammed into the city of Joplin. Here, residents of Joplin walk down the street after the May 22 tornado.

Janet Martin attempts to salvage medication and mementos from her brother's home before a second storm moves in, on May 23, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri.

'Twenty minutes before the storm, he left to go to church. He would have been in that basement if he hadn't gone,' Martin said.

Jasper County emergency management director Keith Stammer said about 2,000 buildings were damaged, while Joplin fire chief Mitch Randles estimated the damage covered a quarter or more of the city of about 50,000 people some 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Kansas City.

Pictured left, damaged vehicles in parking lot of St. John's Hospital after the tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

A tattered flag flutters in trees stripped of bark near St. John's Regional Medical Center on May 23, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri.

An overturned car lies on the foundation of a home near St. John's Regional Medical Center on May 23, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri.

A woman salvages items from her home that was destroyed by a tornado. Joplin, Missouri.

In the aftermath of Wednesday night's storms, a few people traverse through the damage and destroyed cars in a shopping center on McFarland Blvd. on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of Wednesday night's storms, an employee of a demolished oil change shop hangs his head while resting on the pile of debris where the shop once stood on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

A tornado-damaged home in Ringgold, Georgia, on April 28, 2011, after devastating tornadoes ripped through the area, killing 14 in Georgia alone.

Tornadoes and storms carved a trail of 'catastrophic' destruction across the southern United States, killing over 250 people in the worst US weather disaster in years, officials said Thursday.

In the aftermath of Wednesday night's storms, University of Alabama students look at the destroyed shopping center on McFarland Blvd. on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, residents wander the steets near downtown Tuscaloosa surveying the damage on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As of 8 a.m., at least 131 deaths were accounted for in Alabama. The tornado that touchdown in Tuscaloosa is estimated to be one mile wide.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, University of Alabama senior Bradley Dorsett carries his belongings from his damaged apartment on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, debris from homes in the Cedar Crest neighborhood that were destroyed lies on the lawns on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, University of Alabama student Ashley Gorman surveys the damage to a friend's home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, University of Alabama students load up a truck full of belongings from their destroyed home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, a resident removes belongings from his destroyed home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, owner Frank Evans stands on the rubble that was the Quik Pawn Shop on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation employee Casey Wallace tries to clear a road off 15th Street of power lines on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Businesses and homes near downtown Tuscaloosa sit destroyed in the wake of a tornado on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, an Alabama resident helps a University of Alabama law student remove belongings from his destroyed home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood on April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Man walks through home destroyed by a tornado, Tuscaloosa, Alabama