The great snake escape

As floodwaters receded and the arduous work of post-disaster reconstruction began, an equally urgent and perilous task unfolded in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region last month.

Residents near Hengzhou city, Nanning who had survived the flood faced an unexpected reptilian threat.

When the levee of Liulan reservoir gave way under the onslaught of Typhoon Maysak, the torrential floodwaters destroyed a local snake farm downstream in Dengxu village of Yunbiao. An estimated 800 to 900 snakes including venomous cobras, king rat snakes and non-venomous rat snakes were released into the murky waters.

"Clearing the mud is just a matter of shoveling, but snakes are different. You don't know where they're hiding, or when they might emerge," one villager said.

At least two residents of Dengxu village were bitten by snakes after the flood.

Middle-aged woman Lu Cuilian was bitten by a cobra that was swept into her home by the flood. Her nephew told reporters that the snake first bit her on the neck, and as she tried to pull it away, it bit her arm.

With roads cut off by the flood and the nearby clinic's antivenom supply washed away, she could not reach a hospital in time. She held on for two days, and then died.

The following day, an elderly man surnamed Qin was bitten but survived after being sent to the hospital and receiving antivenom.

The village quickly organized a special patrol team, while multiple official and volunteer snake-catching squads scoured the area, armed with tongs, collection bags and headlamps.