Horror moment 900 snakes escape breeding facility and swim through village

Around 900 snakes, including venomous cobras, escaped from a snake farm after devastating floods destroyed the site in southern China, with at least one person reportedly bitten. The incident unfolded in Hengzhou, China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, after days of torrential rain triggered widespread flooding across the area. Floodwaters swept through the farm on July 6, allowing hundreds of snakes to escape into nearby communities, Global Times reports.

Wu Zhi, head of the Dengwei village committee, said: “According to our preliminary estimate, around 800 to 900 snakes escaped after the farm was washed away by floodwaters. So far, one villager has been bitten by a snake and is receiving emergency treatment at a hospital.”

He added that not all of the escaped snakes pose a serious threat, saying “a large proportion of them were non-venomous water snakes”. However, local snake farms also breed venomous cobras alongside king rat snakes and water snakes, raising concerns among residents as floodwaters spread the animals across the area.

The flooding has left some communities cut off, with local media reporting that several people trapped by the floodwaters were bitten by snakes but were unable to reach medical treatment immediately because roads had become impassable.

China’s emergency management authorities said rescue teams had been sent to deal with the situation after receiving reports of escaped snakes and snakebite incidents. Officials said further information would be released once assessments had been completed.

In an unusual response to the incident, more than a dozen volunteers from nearby villages formed a civilian snake-catching team to search flooded neighbourhoods for the escaped reptiles. The group has reportedly been going from house to house, removing snakes to reduce the risk of further bites.

Wu said: “Most of the snakes have already been washed away by the floods. At present, only a small number remain on floating garbage and debris on stagnant floodwaters.”

Authorities have urged residents not to attempt to catch any snakes themselves unless they have professional training. Instead, anyone who spots a snake has been advised to report it to the local village committee so trained personnel can deal with it safely.

Guangxi issued its highest flood alert at midnight on Monday as water levels at 70 monitoring stations on 55 rivers rose above the warning thresholds, The Independent reports. By Tuesday afternoon, 62 rivers across the country had risen above flood-warning levels, with the Qingshui river in Guangxi recording the heaviest flood in its monitoring history. In neighbouring Guangdong, the first flooding red alert of the season was issued for parts of the West river in Zhaoqing.

The flooding is the latest extreme weather event to hit parts of southern China this summer, with heavy rainfall causing widespread disruption. The heavy rainfall was caused by Maysak, China’s first typhoon of the year, killing people in Guangxi and forcing 130,000 people to evacuate.

Chinese president Xi Jinping said: “All local governments should tighten accountability for disaster prevention and relief, thoroughly check rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other regions prone to geological disasters, strengthen the early warning systems, ensure prevention and relief work and the safety of people’s lives and property.”