'Sponge cities' soak up rain, pain

Early indications suggest that a government-backed campaign to increase the use of permeable materials in construction will help reduce flooding after storms, report Hu Meidong in Fuzhou, Liu Kun in Wuhan and Hou Liqiang in Beijing.

"In addition to an apartment and a car, newlyweds in Wuhan have just one more 'must-have' item for their new lives: a boat."

That's just one of dozens of jokes that went viral on the internet after downpours on July 6 flooded the capital of Hubei province, leaving many roads impassable. Pumps at 38 stations across the city worked around the clock to drain about 100 million cubic meters of water, but still failed to prevent severe flooding.