A couple in North China's Hebei province saved more than 500 lives when floods hit Liujiahe village on July 22, the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reported.

Wang Yuping and his wife Liu Qinghua run a family hotel in the village. After they saw that the Juma River, which runs through the village, was rising quickly at around 1 am, they immediately ran to hotels nearby to warn staff and guests about the floods, instead of taking the 10,000 yuan ($1,570) in savings they had at home and seeking shelter.

The couple knocked on the gates and windows of the hotels, shouted about the flood, and woke up some 500 tourists.

Wang and Liu then guided the people toward higher ground.

Liu also told several drivers to drive away from the village in order to avoid losses.

When the flood was approaching, she saved the life of a driver by quickly directing the driver to higher ground before the waters took his car away.

After the disaster, the couple received many calls from the tourists they had saved, expressing gratefulness.