Slideshow: The Most Iconic Photos of 2016

By Newsweek Staff On 12/26/16 at 11:44 AM EST

Every year has its share of war and bloodshed, chaos and tumult. But few in recent memory rival 2016.

01_06_BS_SS_11 — Slideshow: The Most Iconic Photos of 2016 JONATHAN BACHMAN/REUTERS

Every year has its share of war and bloodshed, chaos and tumult. Few in recent memory rival 2016. We've assembled some of the most iconic photography taken this year, and while not exhaustive, it is difficult to forget how difficult recent months have been for so many.

There were modest victories and moments of triumph (Standing Rock). But most will remember this year for its outbursts of violence, its paroxysms of terror—and, of course, the shock and dismay many felt as the old order crumbled. It wasn't just Brexit, Trump, fake news and police shootings in Minnesota and Baton Rouge. It was the persistence of ISIS, and the way nightclubs were turned into crime scenes. On our social media feeds, we watched migrants drown, Aleppo starve, a diplomat bleed out on the floor of a Turkish art gallery, and confirmation that Prince really is gone.

Talecake, Fiji—Two boys wait under a bus shelter supporting a fallen tree on February 24 after Cyclone Winston ripped through the island nation four days earlier. The death toll had risen to 42, and tens of thousands remain homeless in the wake of the worst storm ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. “There are Fijians out there who are without water, without a roof over their heads, without food and without essential services,” Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said. Power outages, fallen phone lines and roadblocks continue to challenge aid workers trying to reach remote communities where relief is most needed. Cyclone Winston’s winds reached 184 miles per hour, shattering the previous record of 178 mph set by Cyclone Zoe in 2002. BRETT PHIBBS/NEW ZEALAND HERALD/AP