Wuhan, Immersed In The Flood (Photo : Getty Images)
The recent series of storms and the flood that came with bad weather gave a Chinese man the opportunity to answer the theoretical question “Who would you save first in an emergency – your wife or mother?”
Independent reported that Gao Fangshao, a decorator, had to make that hard decision when heavy rains caused the water level to rise to dangerous heights last week in Daxian, a village in Hebei Province in north east China. Gao picked his mother safety over that of his wife, Zhang Xiaoyan, and their two young children when water level rose fast near their home.
He left their house and checked if his mother, who lives in the same village, was safe. Gao returned to find that Zhang shut their door to prevent the water from entering their home. At that time, water level was up to his chest.
The family, with the help of Gao’s father, climbed the roof of their house, according to The Times. He went back to his mother’s house the second time to check again on the old woman. When the flood subsided, he went back, but his wife and kids had left him, taking with them 2,000 yuan cash.
The frustrated wife decided to leave her husband of five years and return to her parents’ home in east China, together with the two children.
Hebei Province had more than 100 deaths recorded because of last week’s storm and flood. But for Gao, it wiped out his family because of his choice to save his mother.
