Yolanda photo among TIME's Top 10 of 2013

A photo taken in Tolosa, Leyte, during the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda has made it into TIME's Top 10 Photos of 2013.

The photo, taken on November 18 by Agence France-Presse photographer Philippe Lopez, depicts somber-faced women carrying religious icons such as the Sto. Nino, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ carrying the Cross—a typical Catholic procession in the Philippines until one takes into account the post-apocalyptic wasteland stretching far and wide in the background.

The photo captures the faith in God that many Catholic Filipinos have and continue to have even after such a trying year of calamities both natural and man-made.

“It’s very stormy at this time of year in the Philippines. Clouds gathered in front of the setting sun while along the road residents lit fires to burn the debris left by the typhoon. Momentarily, the devastated landscape took on a strange beauty, and it was just then that this group of women and children appeared on the road. I think people gravitate towards this picture not only because it is visually strong and emotional, but also because, in a way, it draws on some viewers' own faith,” read the description beneath the photo.

The TIME slideshow is accompanied by an essay. Other photos included scenes from:

• the Boston Marathon Bombing in the US;
• the deadly collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh;
• a family huddling under a jetty as a bush fire sweeps through Southern Tasmania in Australia;
• the violent protests in Turkey;
• a shark attempting to catch a seal off of Seal Island, South Africa;
• a woman and her children flat on the floor as rebels attack a mall in Nairobi, Kenya;
• the disfigured veteran soldier floating on his back in a pool in Texas, the US;
• men carrying a dead man during an uprising in Cairo, Egypt; and
• an execution carried out by al Qaeda-linked ISIS militia in Keferghan, Syria.

There are actually 12 photos in the top 10 picks. — Vida Cruz/KBK, GMA News