Unfortunately, the ominous gray funnel cloud forming over the landscape of the Southeast Wednesday evening was exactly what it looked like. In a couple of hours, a tornado would touch ground in the streets of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Then, the strong spiraling wind would rip through the town, leaving rubbles of trash and demolished houses in its trail.

 As the storm picked up pace, it gains the category of being an EF-5 tornado, which is the highest distinction possibly given. At last count, it is said that 337 people across six southern states have died from the deadly storm.

 The state of Alabama was hit particularly hard. Out of the 337 killed, 249 were from Alabama. Record number of houses were torn apart, and many people are still missing. The storm is estimated to cost at least $2 billion in damages.

 In Georgia, Governor Nathan Deal called a state of emergency for many western Georgia counties including Rabun, Spalding, and Troup county. Fifteen people died in Georgia from the storm. The low casualty showed that many residents were well prepared, with respect to the high caliber of the tornadoes.

 The destruction of the storm is evident, and it is hard to believe that in only a couple of hours, decades of work and establishments were totally obliterated. Yet, the victims of the south are hopeful and doing everything they can to rebuild. Some have set up a virtual "lost and found" on facebook, while many other neighbors and friends will be providing food and shelter for those in need. While it's too late to change what has happened, disasters like this are usually a test of the strength of a community. There is no doubt that the south can fully recover and start looking forward.