39 dead, cobras on the loose: China's flood crisis takes a terrifying turn

The death toll from the catastrophic floods ravaging southern China has surged sharply to 39 after a major dam breach wreaked havoc across the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The ongoing disaster, caused by torrential rains from Typhoon Maysak, has taken a bizarre and terrifying turn, leaving hundreds of breeding-farm snakes, including highly venomous cobras, on the loose alongside escaped zoo animals.

Guangxi authorities confirmed the spike in casualties on Thursday. The majority of the newly reported fatalities occurred in Nanning, where a reservoir dam failure claimed 26 lives in a single torrent of water. Over 130,000 residents across the central and southern regions have been forced to evacuate their homes.

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900 snakes on the loose in flooded villages

Adding to the horror of rising waters, a local commercial breeding facility in Hengzhou city was completely inundated after nearby reservoir embankments gave way on Monday morning.

An estimated 800 to 900 snakes broke free as the facility's infrastructure collapsed. Videos trending heavily on Chinese social media show the reptiles cutting through muddy currents, hitching rides on floating garbage, and slithering into the upper floors of partially submerged homes.

Wu Zhi, head of the local Dengwei Village Committee, told South China Morning Post that while many are non-venomous water snakes and king rat snakes, a substantial portion of the escapees are deadly cobras.

At least one stranded villager has suffered a snakebite and is undergoing emergency treatment.

In response, a dozen local volunteers with handling experience have formed a makeshift civilian snake-catching squad, wading through knee-deep water with fishing nets and protective gear to hunt down the loose reptiles.

Alpacas and zebras join the chaos

In the neighbouring city of Guigang, severe structural damage to the local zoo has allowed at least 100 animals to escape their flooded enclosures.

The Guigang Zoo released an urgent public appeal on Wednesday requesting assistance to track down a highly diverse roster of missing wildlife, including alpacas, miniature pigs, zebras, four porcupines, and 30 peacocks.

The central government in Beijing has rushed more than 36,000 disaster relief items to the region to assist with the dual-threat humanitarian crisis. Emergency workers are patrolling flooded areas using loudspeakers and WeChat broadcast groups, instructing residents to stay off the streets at night, avoid handling floating debris, and wear high-top rain boots if they must wade through the water.