Top nation/world photo stories in 2013 on ajc.com

ajc.com readers clicked on a wide variety of photo galleries of  national and international topics in 2013, from big news in weather in Oklahoma and the Philippines, to breaking news about the Navy Yard shooting and Nelson Mandela's death, to remembrances of the events of 50 years ago. Take a walk back through 2013 with the top news galleries from the past year:

1. In May, a tornado took aim at two Moore, Oklahoma schools. Two slide shows reflected the emotional and physical devastation: Twister slammed Oklahoma schools and Aerial views of the swath of destruction.

2. The Boston Marathon bombing in April shocked and horrified the nation.

3. The raising of the doomed ship Costa Concordia was an engineering feat when it was raised to an upright position in September.

4. In November, one of the strongest typhoons ever hit the Philippines.

5. Not all the news was grim. In October, readers were infatuated by the christening of Prince George.

6.  A plant explosion in West, Texas, two days after the Boston Marathon bombings, killed at least 14 people, injured 200 and damaged dozens of buildings on April 17.

7. A shooting in the Navy Yard in September  killed several and injured man in September.

8. Nov. 22 marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. But readers were more interested in viewing images of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

9. The December memorial service for Nelson Mandela featured U.S. presidents, controversial selfies and handshakes, and an interpreter who wasn't one.

10. The 50th anniversary of the March on Washington also allowed readers to remember the original march in 1963.