In Altenahr in western Germany, even the dead were not spared in this week's devastating flood. The village cemetery was swept away, headstones damaged and toppled by the force of the muddy water.

Antoinnette Steinhoff stands at the edge of the flooded graveyard, crushed by the sight of destruction in front of her. "My mother is over there," she says, pointing at a black marble grave with a cross on top.

Recommended for you

CNN's Sam Kiley, Barbara Wojazer, Melissa Bell, Chris Burns, Joseph Ataman, Nadine Schmidt, Schams Elwazer, Sharon Braithwaite, Vasco Cotovio, Angela Dewan, Ulrike Dehmel and Brandon Miller contributed reporting. Ivana Kottasova wrote in London.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Please log in, or sign up for a new, free account to read or post comments.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.