U.S. natural disasters in 2013

LaTisha Garcia carries her 8-year-old daughter, Jazmin Rodriguez, near Plaza Towers Elementary School after a massive tornado carved its way through Moore, Okla., leaving little of the school and neighborhood. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

Dec. 10, 2013 3:24 PM PT

From the Rim Fire to the destructive tornado in Moore, Okla., it was a tragically busy year for natural disasters across the U.S.
Read more:
Rim fire’s effects likely to last for decades.
Before and after: Tornado ravages Moore, Okla.

A road sign on Highway 120 near Groveland, Calif., is scorched by the massive Rim fire. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Aftermath of the severe tornado damage in Washington, Ill. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

A man walks through what is left of a neighborhood in Washington, Ill., a day after a tornado ripped through the town in November. (Armando Sanchez / Associated Press)

An air tanker drops fire retardant on a hot spot as firefighters battle a wildfire near Banning, Calif. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Homeowners clean debris and utility workers make repairs to a tornado-damaged neighborhood in Kokomo, Ind. (Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

Mandy Chitty ends the day’s search for personal belongings at her home in Moore, Okla. (Erik S. Lesser / EPA)

The sun rises in Seaside Heights, N.J., behind the Jet Star Roller Coaster, still submerged months after Superstorm Sandy. (Mel Evans / Associated Press)

A tornado-ravaged neighborhood in Moore, Okla. (Tom Pennington / Getty Images)

A field of parked cars and trucks sits partially submerged near Greeley, Colo., as debris-filled rivers flooded into towns and farms miles from the Rockies. (John Wark / Associated Press)