U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Staff Sgt. Lopaka Mounts, assigned to the 331st Air Expeditionary Group, receives a hug from a resident during search and rescue operations after Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas September 13, 2008. (via The Big Picture)

Today's post on The Big Picture features photographs of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in the southern United States. I'm a sucker for great photojournalism shots, and the image above stood out as one of my favorites. The Big Picture is a great resource for anyone interested in photojournalism, as it showcases the best journalistic photography with image sizes much larger than most news agencies offer. It also makes the stories more personal, as the reader can actually get a better sense of the situation by viewing such stirring photographs.

Hurricane Ike, the fifth hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on the first of September, and hit landfall in the United States on the night of 12 September near Galveston Bay, Texas. The storm then moved north into inland Texas towards Houston before finally losing strength as it swerved north-east and became a tropical depression on 14 September (source). Ike is estimated to be the third costliest hurricane in history with reported damages of $27 billion USD (source).