Rescuers tore through rubble and wreckage Monday in a search for survivors amid homes torn from foundations, shredded metal dangling from battered trees and dead animals lying among debris after a powerful tornado ripped through southeast Alabama and killed at least 23 people, including children.

The trail of destruction from the Sunday tornado was at least half a mile wide and overwhelmed rural Lee County’s coroners’ office, forcing it to call in help from the state. Volunteers used chain saws to help clear paths for emergency responders. At the R&D Grocery on Monday morning, residents were constantly asking each other if they were OK.

“I’m still thanking God I’m among the living,” said John Jones, who has lived most of his life in Beauregard, a tiny unincorporated community of roughly 10,000 people that’s about 60 miles east of Montgomery near the Alabama-Georgia line.

The Sunday tornado, which had winds that appeared to be around 160 mph (257 kph) or greater, was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across the Deep South, spawning numerous tornado warnings in parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

Sully, the service dog who symbolized devotion lying by former President George H.W. Bush’s flag-draped casket, has a new mission.

The 2-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever on Wednesday joined Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s dog program to help wounded veterans. Sully offered his paw as he was administered an oath streamed on Facebook to “support, comfort and cheer warriors and their families.”

Sully received a new vest and is considered a Navy hospital corpsman second class. Sully’s Instagram account posted he looks forward to continuing his mission “as my best friend wanted me to.”

The service dog was named for retired airline pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, who became famous for landing a damaged passenger jet on the Hudson River in 2009.

Sully served Bush for six months until the former president died in November.