Hundreds of venomous snakes have escaped from breeding farms after heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in China. Footage shows a swarm of the reptiles floating through the water flowing through Hengzhou, a city of one million people, after heavy rain from Typhoon Maysak caused two reservoirs in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to overflow. Around 800 to 900 snakes, including cobras, escaped after a snake farm in Dengwei village was overcome by floodwater on Monday (6 July). Several villagers have been bitten by the snakes, local media has reported. Typhoon Maysak, China’s first of the year, has resulted in multiple fatalities and forced 130,000 to evacuate the Guangxi Zhuang region.

China's president calls for "all out" rescue efforts after storms kill at least 17 people and force the evacuation of tens of thousands.

Authorities deploy emergency teams to capture escaped reptiles and warn residents to avoid flooded areas until recovery operations are complete