From natural disasters to ruthless gun attacks, 2017 was a year of tragedy and heartbreak for America.
Hurricane Harvey devastates Houston, Texas:
Evacuees wade down a flooded section of Interstate 610 as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. (David J. Phillip/AP/CP). READ: What it feels like to survive a hurricane.
Hurricane Maria slames Puerto Rico:
Family members collect belongings after hurricane force winds destroyed their house in Toa Baja, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 24, 2017 following the passage of Hurricane Maria. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images).
A gunman in Las Vegas massacred 58 people and left nearly 500 injured:
White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. turns deadly
Peter Cvjetanovic (R) and other neo Nazi, alt-right, and white supremacist marchers encircle and chant at counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches on August 11. (Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images). READ: It wasn’t a lone flare-up, Charlottesville really is America.
People are thrown into the air as a car drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12. The attack killed one protestor, Heather Heyer, and left 19 injured. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress/AP/CP). READ: Charlottesville and the politics of fear.
A gunman kills 26 and injures 20 at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas
Investigators work at the scene of a deadly shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday Nov. 5. A man opened fire inside of the church in the small South Texas community, killing more than 20 people. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP/CP). READ: How do we decide what we consider ‘terrorism’?
ISIS supporter rams a truck into pedestrians in New York City killing eight
Police work near a damaged Home Depot truck Wednesday, November 1 after Sayfullo Saipov, an ISIS supporter who immigrated from Uzbekistan in 2010, drove a rented truck onto a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial, killing eight people. (Andres Kudacki/AP) READ: How terrorists use propaganda to recruit lone wolves.
Authorities investigate the scene near a covered body on a bike path after the attack in New York City. (Bebeto Matthews/AP/CP)
California wildfires:
Residences burned by wildfires in Santa Rosa, California, U.S., on October 12. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images)