Nearly 900 snakes escape flooded China breeding farm

Up to 900 snakes escaped a breeding farm in Hengzhou, in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, after Typhoon Maysak floodwaters tore through the facility on July 6, according to Chinese state media, including Global Times and CGTN.

Heavy rainfall breached a nearby reservoir embankment, flooding the village of Dengwei and destroying the snake farm's enclosures. Local official Wu Zhi told Red Star News that floodwaters swept away most of the snakes, leaving a smaller number stranded on floating debris in the flooded area.

Even though some initial news reports suggested that venomous cobras had escaped from the zoo, according to Wu, the snakes that were captured thus far by the rescue teams turned out to be non-venomous water snakes.

A group of ten people were sent to hunt down the escaped snakes; they were equipped with nets and electro-shockers, while volunteers have been recruited in nearby villages to try to deal with the problem.

A person in one of the villages was bitten by a snake and now is receiving medical treatment.

However, the snake incident is just a minor aspect of a far bigger calamity. Typhoon Maysak, the first typhoon of the year in China, has caused the evacuation of about 130,000 people and the breach of a reservoir dam in the capital of Guangxi, Nanning.

At least six people lost their lives, while eleven others went missing by Tuesday evening, as reported by Xinhua, with separate floods in Hubei province causing the death of 11 other individuals. The ministry of emergency management of China has provided more than 36,000 extra relief items to the region.

Guangxi is one of the biggest snake-breeding regions in the world, with Chinese cobras, king rat snakes and water snakes bred in the southern parts of the country for the pet, venom and meat trades.

President Xi Jinping called for "all-out" rescue measures all over China, telling the local authorities to improve disaster prevention measures near rivers, lakes and reservoirs as the flood season in China began on July 1.