War Against 900 Escaped Snakes as China Braces for Another Typhoon

[Anchor]

In southern China, where heavy rains from Typhoon Maysak have caused severe flooding, a large-scale snake farm has collapsed. Authorities are scrambling to capture the snakes, but the situation is difficult as hundreds have escaped.

Beijing correspondent Choi Go-un reports.

[Reporter]

A snake holds its head high in the middle of muddy, red floodwaters.

Snakes are seen crawling up walls and brooms, while isolated residents frantically wave sticks to drive away snakes trying to enter their homes.

This is the war against snakes currently unfolding in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China.

This area is home to many large-scale snake farms that raise snakes for traditional medicine and the leather industry. The ongoing torrential rains caused flooding, which led to the collapse of the snake enclosures.

Approximately 900 snakes, including venomous species like cobras and non-venomous water snakes, have escaped, and there have already been reports of people being bitten.

[Resident in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: (What did you get bitten by?) A cobra. (How long was it?) About this long. (What color was it?) It was black, and its head was flat.]

Flood damage continues to rise, with 6 people confirmed dead and 11 missing so far.

Some 130,000 people have been evacuated, and the area of damaged crops has reached 12,900 hectares, which is 44 times the size of Yeouido.

Although Typhoon Maysak was not particularly strong in terms of intensity, its slow dissipation and the influx of large amounts of water vapor caused heavy rainfall over a wide area, leading to significant damage.

[Flood Victim: (Are there many people left in the upper area?) Yes, many. More than 100 people. (Are there about 90 patients as well?) That is correct. There are still about that many.]

The death toll from a landslide near Longnan City in Gansu Province has risen to 21.

Investigations revealed that all the victims were walking to perform forest maintenance work, such as removing dead trees and planting saplings, when they were struck by the landslide.

Chinese disaster management authorities have urgently allocated budgets and provided relief supplies to the affected areas. However, they remain on high alert as another typhoon is expected to make landfall in China this coming weekend.

(Video Editing: Jo Mu-hwan)

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