By The South Asia Times

BEIJING -  Severe flooding triggered by Typhoon Maysak has unleashed an unusual public safety threat in southern China after hundreds of farmed snakes, including venomous cobras, escaped into flood-hit communities, adding to the humanitarian challenges facing rescue teams amid deadly storms that have devastated several provinces.

According to China's state-run Global Times, around 800 to 900 snakes escaped after floodwaters destroyed a snake-breeding farm in Dengwei village, Hengzhou, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Local authorities have deployed emergency personnel to capture the reptiles and prevent further injuries.

The flooding is part of a broader weather emergency that has battered large parts of southern and central China, bringing record-breaking rainfall, flash floods, reservoir failures and widespread destruction.

Authorities said Guangxi has endured days of torrential rain after Typhoon Maysak moved across the region, placing several reservoirs near the provincial capital Nanning under emergency conditions. Earlier this week, floodwaters breached multiple reservoirs, inundating villages and forcing evacuations.

Village officials said at least one resident has been hospitalized after suffering a snakebite, while local media reported that other stranded villagers were also bitten but were unable to reach hospitals because roads remained submerged and transportation was cut off.

Officials said the escaped reptiles included both venomous and non-venomous species.

The area is known for commercial snake farming, with breeders raising cobras, king rat snakes and water snakes for traditional medicine and food production.

Wu Zhi, head of Dengwei village committee, told Chinese media that the farm was washed away by floodwaters on July 6, allowing hundreds of snakes to escape into surrounding communities.

Local resident Shen told state media that flooding from breached reservoirs submerged low-lying snake farms, releasing large numbers of reptiles into nearby villages.

Authorities have urged residents not to attempt to capture snakes themselves.

Instead, trained personnel and emergency responders have been dispatched to affected communities.

In an unusual community response, more than a dozen volunteers from neighboring villages formed an informal snake-catching team, using fishing equipment to remove reptiles from flooded homes, debris and stagnant water.

Village officials said most of the snakes already have been swept away by floodwaters, while many of those recovered have been non-venomous water snakes.

China's emergency management authorities said rescue teams remain on the ground and additional information will be released as assessments continue.

- Deadly weather across China

The snake escape comes as China faces one of its most destructive periods of severe weather this year.

In neighboring Hubei Province, violent thunderstorms, tornadoes and gale-force winds killed 11 people, injured 331 others, and left one person missing earlier this week after extreme weather destroyed homes and damaged thousands of buildings.

Across Guangxi, record-breaking rainfall has caused widespread flooding, damaged infrastructure, submerged roads and forced large-scale rescue operations. Earlier reports indicated that more than 745 millimeters (29 inches) of rain fell within 24 hours in parts of the region, while breached reservoirs flooded downstream communities.

Meteorologists have warned that additional heavy rainfall could trigger flash floods, landslides and river flooding in southern China over the coming days.

China has experienced increasingly frequent extreme weather events in recent years, including record heatwaves, catastrophic floods and powerful typhoons, phenomena that climate scientists say are becoming more intense as global temperatures rise.

Authorities continue to mobilize emergency services, military personnel and local volunteers to assist flood victims, repair damaged infrastructure and prevent secondary disasters as recovery efforts continue across multiple provinces.