US midwest hit by tornadoes – in pictures

A school in Henryville, Indiana, is destroyed after the powerful storms Photograph: C E Branham/AP

Storm damage in an area between Henryville and Marysville Photograph: Michael Clevenger/AP

A funnel cloud begins to form over Athens, Alabama Photograph: Chris Simmons/AP

Blaine Lawson, 76, inside his house after a tornado tore the roof off in Cleveland, Tennessee Photograph: Robert Ray/AP

A school bus is pushed through the front of a building in Henryville, Indiana Photograph: Philip Scott Andrews/AP

Jerry Vonderhaar, left, comforts Charles Kellogg after severe weather hit the Eagle Point subdivision in Limestone County, Alabama Photograph: Jeronimo Nisa/AP

Greg Cook hugs his dog Coco after finding her inside his destroyed home in East Limestone, Alabama Photograph: Gary Cosby Jr/AP

Residents examine the tornado damage in Metro Piner, Kentucky Photograph: Carrie Cochran/AP

Janessa Lewellyn, sitting in her father's car, looks back towards her grandparents' house after a tornado ripped it apart in New Pekin, Indiana Photograph: Matt Stone/AP

The tornado left a path of destruction as it passed through Athens, Alabama Photograph: Butch Dill/AP

Storm clouds move west over Palmyra, Indiana Photograph: David Lee Hartlage/AP

Residents examine the damage in Metro Piner, Kentucky Photograph: Carrie Cochran/AP

Henryville high school in Indiana Photograph: Philip Scott Andrews/AP

A woman helps a friend rescue possessions from her home after it was destroyed by a tornado in Henryville Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

A police car blocks entry to the town of Holton, Indiana, after it was damaged by a tornado Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Destruction in Campbell County, Kentucky Photograph: Gary Landers/The Cincinnati Enquirer/AP

A worker with a chainsaw stands on a downed tree resting on a home in Charlotte, North Carolina Photograph: Chris Keane/Reuters

Residents carry boxes of belongings from their damaged home in Henryville, Indiana Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP

Cars and debris are strewn in front of Henryville high school in Indiana Photograph: Steve C Mitchell/EPA

A man helps to clean up a house in Harrison, Tennessee Photograph: Billy Weeks/AP

People carry supplies past a church damaged by a chain of tornadoes in West Liberty, Kentucky Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters