It’s a decision no one would want to make: if devastating floods were about to destroy the village where you lived, would you save your partner or one of your parents first?
Gao Fengshou, a decorator, was faced with the dilemma when heavy rain threatened to raise water levels to dangerous heights last week in the village of Daxian, in north east China’s Hebei province.
He chose to put his mother’s safety over that of Zhang Xiaoyan, his wife, and their two young children as floods crept closer to the family home – and Ms Zhang has now left him as a result.
Instead of helping Ms Zhang to ensure the safety of their son and daughter, Mr Gao headed straight to his mother’s house in the same village, reported the Times.
After making sure his mother was safe, Mr Gao returned home, where Ms Zhang had forced the door shut to keep out the water, which had reached chest height.
His family managed to climb on to the roof of the house with his father, who was also there, but Mr Gao did not help them up – instead leaving to check on his mother a second time.
When he came home again, his family were gone, along with 2,000 yuan (£228) in cash.
Large parts of central, eastern and northern China have been hit by flooding this summer, while a typhoon left a wave of destruction this month and a freak tornado killed at least 98 in the eastern province of Jiangsu in June.
According to China Daily, at least 114 people have died and 111 are missing following the torrential rain and floods which hit Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, last week.
Following the incident, Ms Zhang has left her husband, who she had been married to for five years. She has reportedly returned to her parents’ home in east China with the children, according to the Mirror.
According to state media, more than 800 people have died and around 200 are missing in a series of natural disasters that have hit China since June – the worst casualty figures since a similar period in 2011.
“I had no time. It was a huge rush. I didn't have time to make a choice between my mother and my wife,” Mr Gao said, according to the Times.
The newspaper reported that users of Chinese social media had largely criticised Mr Gao for not paying enough attention to his wife.
