After an enormous snake was seen slithering by way of Hurricane Idalia’s floodwaters, authorities in Hernando County, Florida, are urging residents to keep away from getting into inundated areas, and one skilled advised Newsweek there’s extra to concern than wildlife in floodwaters.
Hurricane Idalia hit Florida on Wednesday morning as a lethal Category 3 storm, bringing with it torrential rain, excessive winds and record-breaking storm surge. While the hurricane made landfall north of Gainesville, the impression of Idalia was felt all through the state, with areas of Florida reporting storm surges of 12 ft. Flooding in Hernando County was so extreme that emergency autos had been blocked from accessing roads. Hernando County Fire Rescue mentioned crews had been unable to reply to a home fireplace in Hernando Beach as a result of storm surge. It is believed the home was vacant and the home is a “complete loss,” in response to an announcement by fireplace rescue officers.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) shared pictures of the extreme flooding on Facebook, utilizing the pictures as warnings to individuals who thought-about venturing out within the storm.
“If there’s flooding in your space, please shelter in place and don’t wade within the water. You by no means know what might have washed in with the flooding,” the sheriff’s workplace posted on Facebook.
Newsweek reached out by way of e mail Wednesday to the HCSO for remark.
It’s unclear the place precisely the snake was noticed in Hernando County, however one Facebook person claimed it was Shoal Line Boulevard in Hernando Beach.
The seaside city was hit by extreme storm surge, Hernando Count Fire confirmed Wednesday morning.
The fireplace division posted several photos to X, previously Twitter, displaying Hernando Beach inundated by Idalia’s storm surge with water submerging buildings and autos.
HCSO confirmed in a touch upon the put up that it was a rattlesnake with a number of Facebook customers suspecting that it was an japanese diamondback. The japanese diamondback is North America’s longest and heaviest venomous snake, in response to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. These rattlesnakes can develop to be roughly 6 ft lengthy and are discovered all through Florida.
Numerous Facebook customers famous within the feedback of HCSO’s put up that snakes aren’t the one animals that search increased floor throughout a hurricane or may very well be lurking in floodwaters, which embody alligators, rats and different forms of snakes. After the lethal Hurricane Ian, which pummeled Florida in 2022, a video of a shark wading by way of a flooded avenue in Fort Myers went viral on social media.
The HCSO shared the snake pictures to function a reminder of the hazards of going into flood waters.
Not solely can the floodwater wash in a wide range of probably harmful wildlife, however it might probably comprise lethal pathogens carried in from completely different water techniques throughout heavy rainfall. The contaminated water might end result within the lack of limbs and even dying, a University of Florida researcher confirmed to Newsweek Wednesday morning.
After testing samples of floodwater from Hurricane Ian final yr, Antarpreet Jutla, an affiliate professor of environmental engineering on the University of Florida, and his colleagues discovered two pathogenic micro organism, each of which have excessive mortality charges.
“They get this pathogen after which the mortality charges from these pathogens is fairly excessive, or individuals who get this an infection find yourself dropping limbs or arms or dying,” Jutla mentioned.
The pathogens get into the floodwater due to an enormous inundation of freshwater and clearwater techniques combining after heavy rainfall, Jutla mentioned. He urged folks to keep away from floodwater when doable, particularly these with cuts or scrapes.
