Severe flooding caused by Typhoon Mesak is swamping one area after another in southern China. In the Guangxi region, about 900 snakes from a commercial farm have spread into residential areas, among them deadly venomous cobras.

The snakes got out when the farm was submerged by floods after heavy rain. With hundreds of snakes arriving in villages at once, residents are in a state of panic, and local authorities have told people to stay on alert.

Video from Chinese state media showed cobras swimming with their heads raised in the muddy floodwater, while residents tried to catch them with nets.

The snakes are sheltering in houses, on stairways and in the corners of buildings. Several villagers have already been bitten while clearing flood debris.

A man being treated at a local hospital said a cobra bit him as he was cleaning the floor of his house. Hospital sources confirmed that one person has died of a snakebite.

Typhoon Mesak has made the flooding in Guangxi severe. On Monday two dams burst, fully submerging several villages. At least six people have died in the region, more than 50,000 have been moved to safety, and many are still missing.

Across China the death toll from the storm and floods has risen to 38. A major landslide in Gansu province killed 21 people, and a powerful tornado and thunderstorms in Hubei province killed 11 more. President Xi Jinping has ordered rescue operations to be stepped up.

Hangzhou's emergency management bureau said it acted quickly after reports of the escape. Hangzhou People's Hospital has set up special emergency treatment for snakebite patients and stocked enough anti-venom.

Rescue teams and special medical teams have been sent to flood-hit areas. In a directive, local authorities told people not to try to catch snakes themselves, to keep the surroundings of their homes clean and to take extra care when moving about.

The report drew on The Guardian and CGTN.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.