Hurricane Florence: Residents warned about venomous snakes being spread by storm

It's already been confirmed that Hurricane Florence is definitely not a Sharknado (yes, that is a real sentence that you've just read) but let's not rule out any other dangerous animals getting involved in the storm.

Although there will be no great white sharks flying around anyone's head in South Carolina, there is a possibility that venomous snakes could be in the hurricane.

What does that make it? A Hurrisnake? Pythlone? Vipenado? Ok, I'll stop now.

According to local zoo officials in Myrtle Beach around 38 snake species could be swept up by the storm and relocated in nearby neighbourhoods leaving the potential to see one of the slithering reptiles making its way down a normal street a huge possibility.

Some of the snakes that could be in the hurricane include copperhead vipers and the cottonmouths, both of which are highly dangerous but usually dwell in coastal areas.

Speaking to The Sun News in S.C.Gerald O'Malley of Grand Street Hospital said:

They [the snakes] inject venom, which causes tissue destruction, platelet loss, causes bleeding, it can cause death.

Although local residents have been given the obvious hurricane warning, such as stay inside, they are also being told what to do should they be bitten by one of the deadly snakes.

Anybody who is unfortunate enough to be bitten is advised to go immediately to a hospital which is still open as most medical facilities will be shut down during the storm.

Residents are also advised to not make any 911 calls unless it is a serious emergency, which a deadly snake bite would qualify as.

This type of phenomenon isn't uncommon during storms.

During Hurricane Harvey in September 2017 snakes, fire ants and alligators were found in people's homes, all three of which are native to North and South Carolina with some more than likely to encounter Florence.

Thad Bowman of the Alligator Adventure zoo in Myrtle Beach, which houses several snakes and alligators has said that they are doing everything that they can to keep their animals safe.

Besides snakes, the dangers of Hurricane Florence are already very apparent as five people have already died.

HT New York Post

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