Venomous snakes escape breeding farms in southern China during flooding | China
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 the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was hit by floodwaters after days of heavy rains from typhoon Maysak, prompting warnings for nearby residents.
A. dramatic video A post by state media showing locals using diving nets to catch snakes and a cobra sticking its head out of a muddy water stream went viral. Local media reported that the species of snakes that escaped were water snakes, king rat snakes and cobras.
“Hundreds of snakes escaped at once. I saw five or six,” a snake bite victim at a local hospital told Beijing News. The villager said that he was bitten by a cobra while cleaning the debris from the ground floor of his house around 13:00 on Tuesday.
A local doctor who treats snakebite patients told the newspaper that he had treated many villagers since the typhoon hit the area.
The incident occurred amid severe flooding in Guangxi as two reservoirs overflowed and ruptured on Monday, leaving villages in many towns surrounded by floodwaters. At least six people died and at least 50,000 people were evacuated. Six were still missing.
The death toll from devastating storms in parts of China has risen to 38 after state news agency Xinhua reported that 21 people were killed in a landslide in the central Gansu province on Wednesday. Storms and hurricanes killed at least 11 people in the central province of Hubei, according to state media.
Separately, Beijing News reported that the snake bite victim had died, citing confirmation from a local hospital and eyewitnesses.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “all-out” rescue efforts as flooding and other extreme weather conditions continue to affect the region. Hengzhou’s emergency management bureau said it was aware of reports that floodwaters had damaged snake breeding farms and villagers had been bitten by escaped snakes.
Hengzhou Media Convergence Center on Wednesday Issue Emergency guide to preventing and treating snake bites; He warned that venomous snakes such as cobras, kraits and green pit vipers were escaping as a result of rising flood waters.
The center also said local authorities have increased anti-venom supplies in response to recent incidents and opened a rapid treatment channel for snakebite patients at Hengzhou People’s Hospital, the city’s snakebite treatment centre. The hospital declined to comment and did not confirm state media reports that the snakebite patient had died.
The guide said snakes can take shelter in houses, staircases, corners of buildings and river banks, and urged people to be careful and avoid touching snakes. Rescue personnel were dispatched; Medical experts were deployed to assist with treatment and additional medical stations were set up in the regions, state media reported.
Natural disasters occur frequently in China during the summer months; While some regions are facing heavy rain and floods, some regions are struggling with extreme heat. Although snake sightings are common in flood-affected areas in the south, reports of hundreds of snakes escaping from commercial breeding farms are rare.
Additional research by Yu-chen Li
