Zuo Zhipei, an electrician, should have retired on July 1, his 60th birthday.

However, he said that everybody in the power grid has to stay alert during the flood season and prepare themselves for any rush repairs.

And the diabetic has been tasked with fighting the flood in Poyang County near China's largest freshwater lake, Poyang.

Over a week, there was no electricity in Lianhu township due to the rising water levels after days of torrential downpour, which has disrupted the work and lives of about 90,000 people.

Local authorities have shut down the power, as wires were submerged or quite close above the water level. That height is usually required at five meters, now most cables are less than one meter above the water surface.

After inspecting the site, his team found many 10-kilovolt utility poles had almost been submerged, with only the top above the water and the wires underwater. Wires connecting the poles for 35-kilovolt transmission were also in the water.

"The situation is quite serious," Zuo said. "After the fieldwork, we rolled out a plan to raise the wires to a safe height."

The government approved Zuo, and his team decided to lift the height of the wires to three meters above the water. The decision was made because the water level wouldn't recede very fast while residents have been out of electricity for a week during the hottest period of the year.

"Everyone is very frustrated, and there are a lot of expectations from us," Zuo added. He then led 25 workers for emergency maintenance, noting safety comes first.

"We prepared one boat for each pole and made sure communication was smooth," he said. "They all have families … 20 of them are on aerial work."

Over the past four decades, the electrician has experienced lots of rush repairs. "The first day of my career with this company, I worked with the power lines," he recalled.

"The same situation happened in 1983 when I took a boat for the rush repair of the Kangshan dam," Zuo went on. "At that time, the boat has no engine, and we used paddles. The bamboo paddle we used was swept away by the flood."

"The work has caused distress, but also happiness when we complete it...We received a warm welcome and farewell when we accomplished an assignment in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province," Zuo said with pride.