Hubei residents, facing floods, race against time

Liu Xiaopeng, a firefighter, uses ropes to rescue a stranded child with the help of comrade in Dawu county, Hubei province, on Friday. [Photo by Wang Jida / For China Daily]

By the end of Monday, continuous rainfall from the past two weeks had left at least 34 people dead and 14 others missing in the province, Su Zhou in Beijing and Liu Kun in Wuhan report.

Where there's a wedding, there's a way

Instead of using the usual flower-decorated limousine in their wedding rituals, a couple in Wuhan got married with the help of a rubber dinghy and a bulldozer amid heavy rain that soaked their city.

The groom, Li Shengping, 25, and his bride had long arranged for their wedding ceremony to take place on Sunday, Chutian Metropolis Daily reported on Monday.

According to tradition, the groom must retrieve his bride from her home and carry her to his home on the wedding day, usually accompanied by a fleet of cars.

But when the big day finally arrived, Wuhan had been hit by torrential rain for several days and the road leading to the bride's home was under water. Li's fleet could only get to a point about 2 kilometers away.

Prepared, Li boarded a rubber raft the entourage had carried along. Relatives and friends, sometimes waist-deep in water, pushed and pulled the raft to the bride's home.

When they arrived, they found the dinghy was too small to accommodate the couple.

The bride's family then borrowed a bulldozer to escort them out of the flooded area. The couple sat in the driver's cab, while the five relatives and friends stood in the shovel.

Firefighter with rope is guardian angel

Xinzhai village in Dawu county was flooded by waters up to 2 meters deep on Friday.

More than 100 local residents from about 40 families were trapped, including a 3-year-old boy.

Firefighters undertook a rescue quickly. A series of photos by Chutian Metro Daily showed a firefighter named Liu Xiaopeng almost being washed away by the strong current during rescue efforts.

After fixing a safety rope to himself, Liu jumped into the water to cross the swelling river, which was as wide as 80 meters in places, and reached the stranded people. After attaching the rope to the far side, he began to make his way back carrying the boy.

Liu grasped the rope and dragged himself across the torrent while holding the child high. Liu was able to rescue six residents.

1,200 residents look for cracks in levee

In Jiayu county, thousands of residents patrolled the levee protecting Paizhouwan town. The levee broke in 1998, resulting in a heavy flood that caused great losses.

The levee stretches about 41.5 kilometers. Thirty residents were deployed for every kilometer. More than 1,200 local residents joined the patrols.

The memories are traumatic. The levee was breached on Aug 1, 1998, and the town was washed away. Nineteen PLA soldiers died.

Tong Fangyue, an official at Zhongbao village, said that he helped fight the 1998 flood.

Within the levee lies a cemetery where the 19 PLA soldiers are buried. Every year, villagers visit the grave site to honor the soldiers. "We will never let floods invade their graves - never," Tong said.

Liu Xiaopeng, a firefighter, uses ropes to rescue a stranded child with the help of comrade in Dawu county, Hubei province, on Friday. [Photo by Wang Jida / For China Daily]