Residents of the Ahr Valley in southwestern Germany decorated their village with Christmas trees even as the streets were still littered with dirt and debris from the devastating flood in July that killed nearly 200 people in the region.

Heavy rainfall during the summer caused the Ahr River to overflow, drowning vehicles and crushing buildings. While the floods have destroyed or badly damaged hundreds of homes and prompted some residents to consider leaving, other residents have insisted they will stay, rebuild, and celebrate whenever they can.

A sign near one of the Christmas trees expressed this sentiment with the words "The Ahrtal lives".

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