Venomous snakes escape breeding farms in southern China during flooding

Hundreds of snakes, including cobras, have escaped from flooded breeding farms in southern China as severe storms continue to batter parts of the country.State media reported that a snake farm in Hengzhou, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was hit by flood waters after days of heavy rainfall caused by typhoon Maysak, prompting warnings for nearby residents.A dramatic video shared by state media showing local people using dip nets to catch snakes and a cobra poking its head above a torrent of muddy water went viral. Local media reported that the types of the escaped snakes included water snakes, king ratsnakes and cobras.“Hundreds of snakes escaped all at once. I’ve seen five or six,” a snakebite victim in a local hospital told Beijing News. The villager said he was bitten by a cobra while clearing debris on the ground floor of his house at about 1pm on Tuesday.A local doctor who treats snakebite patients told the paper he had treated several villagers since the typhoon hit the region.The incident came amid severe flooding in Guangxi, where two reservoirs experienced overtopping and breaches on Monday, leaving villages in several towns surrounded by flood waters. At least six people were killed, with at least 50,000 people evacuated. Six were still missing.The death toll from devastating storms in parts of China rose to 38, after the state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday that a landslide in the central province of Gansu had killed 21 people. Thunderstorms and tornadoes killed at least 11 in the central province of Hubei, according to state media.Separately, Beijing News reported that a snakebite victim had died, citing confirmation from a local hospital and witnesses.China’s president, Xi Jinping, called for “all-out” rescue efforts as flooding and other extreme weather continued to affect the region. The Hengzhou emergency management bureau said it was aware of reports that flood waters had damaged snake breeding farms and that villagers had been bitten by escaped snakes.The Hengzhou Media Convergence Centre on Wednesday issued emergency guidance on preventing and treating snakebites, warning that venomous snakes including cobras, kraits and green pit vipers had escaped as a result of the rising flood waters.The centre also said local authorities had increased anti-venom supplies and opened a fast-track treatment channel for snakebite patients at Hengzhou People’s hospital, the city’s designated snakebite treatment centre, in response to recent incidents. The hospital declined to comment and did not confirm state media reports that a snakebite patient had died.The guidance said the snakes could seek shelter in homes, stairwells, corners of buildings and along riverbanks, and urged people to exercise caution and avoid handling snakes themselves. Rescue personnel were dispatched; medical specialists were deployed to assist with treatment, and additional medical stations were set up in the areas, state media reported.China experiences frequent natural disasters during the summer, with torrential rain and flooding affecting some regions, while others grapple with extreme heat. Although snake sightings are common in flood-hit areas of the south, reports of hundreds of snakes escaping from commercial breeding farms are rare.Additional research by Yu-chen Li