Spirit, unity overcome threat of floodwaters

Hunan township learns from past to minimize impact of dike breach

When he heard loudspeakers issue an emergency warning at 4 pm on July 5 about the breach of a dike separating his township in Hunan province from China's second largest freshwater lake, Wang Jinlong's first thoughts were for his elderly parents.

Wang, 60, lives in Tuanzhou, Huarong county, which sits beside Dongting Lake, and he has a prosthetic leg due to an accident he had in 1999.

While his home is located about 1 kilometer from the breach, he did not heed the warning to immediately head to higher ground. Instead, he hobbled in the opposite direction to the house of his parents, who are both in their mid-80s.

He moved as fast as he could because he knows how destructive floodwaters can be. Water from a similar dike breach struck the township in 1996, leaving 14 people dead. Wang lost his home in that flood.

He eventually reached his parents and they had enough time to make their way to a safe section of the earth-and-rock dike. From his vantage point, Wang could see the floodwaters rising over his house. A pig, dozens of chickens, a fish pond and all his worldly possessions disappeared before his eyes.

He realized the waters had taken everything from him for a second time. "My heart is broken and I am devastated," he said.

Wang and his parents spent the night on the dike before local authorities transferred them to a temporary shelter at a county vocational school the next day.