Raging water, caused by storms that followed Typhoon Doksuri,
destroyed his ground-floor apartment and washed away his Benz.
His front window is now blockaded by tree trunks and his living
room is filled with debris, forcing him and his wife into
temporary housing.
Gao's apartment is in the Mentougou district, about 40 km from
the heart of Beijing, where the first two flood-related
casualties were recorded in the city. The area has been the
worst hit by flooding.
The morning began as usual, the 60-year-old said, and then
suddenly a mudslide submerged a nearby stream, and water started
to pour inside his yard.
"Then the balcony collapsed and the water came in," Gao told
Reuters in his living room as he tried to salvage what was still
edible from a refrigerator that had fallen onto its side.
"Us two, me and my wife, we ran for our lives," he said.
Tree trunks and floating chunks of construction material sealed
off his front window soon after their escape.
Water marks are still visible on the wall, just 30 centimeters
shy of the ceiling. His clock was spared.
The storm has killed at least 20 people in Beijing and
surrounding Hebei province, causing the worst flooding in the
vast Hai river basin since 1963. The rains have since moved to
northeast China.
Thousand of people have been displaced by the floods and rains,
and many, like Gao, have had their homes ruined. When asked what
he plans to do, Gao remains optimistic.
"You have to make do and live," said Gao, as he sifted through
cans of bottled beer and muddied shirts. "As long as we're still
here, other things can be sorted."
(Reporting by Josh Arsland and Tingshu Wang, additional
reporting by Ryan Woo, writing by Albee Zhang; editing by Miral
Fahmy)
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