Large Snake Spotted in Hurricane Idalia's Massive Flooding

After a massive snake was seen slithering through Hurricane Idalia's floodwaters, authorities in Hernando County, Florida, are urging residents to avoid entering inundated areas, and one expert told Newsweek there is more to fear than wildlife in floodwaters.

Hurricane Idalia hit Florida on Wednesday morning as a deadly Category 3 storm, bringing with it torrential rain, extreme winds and record-breaking storm surge. While the hurricane made landfall north of Gainesville, the impact of Idalia was felt throughout the state, with areas of Florida reporting storm surges of 12 feet. Flooding in Hernando County was so severe that emergency vehicles were blocked from accessing roads. Hernando County Fire Rescue said crews were unable to respond to a house fire in Hernando Beach due to the storm surge. It is believed the home was vacant and the home is a "total loss," according to a statement by fire rescue officials.

The Hernando County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) shared photos of the severe flooding on Facebook, using the images as warnings to people who considered venturing out in the storm.

"If there is flooding in your area, please shelter in place and do not wade in the water. You never know what could have washed in with the flooding," the sheriff's office posted on Facebook.

Newsweek reached out via email Wednesday to the HCSO for comment.

It's unclear where exactly the snake was spotted in Hernando County, but one Facebook user claimed it was Shoal Line Boulevard in Hernando Beach.

The beach town was hit by severe storm surge, Hernando Count Fire confirmed Wednesday morning.

The fire department posted several photos to X, formerly Twitter, showing Hernando Beach inundated by Idalia's storm surge with water submerging buildings and vehicles.

HCSO confirmed in a comment on the post that it was a rattlesnake with several Facebook users suspecting that it was an eastern diamondback. The eastern diamondback is North America's longest and heaviest venomous snake, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. These rattlesnakes can grow to be roughly 6 feet long and are found throughout Florida.

Numerous Facebook users noted in the comments of HCSO's post that snakes aren't the only animals that seek higher ground during a hurricane or could be lurking in floodwaters, which include alligators, rats and other types of snakes. After the deadly Hurricane Ian, which pummeled Florida in 2022, a video of a shark wading through a flooded street in Fort Myers went viral on social media.

The HCSO shared the snake photos to serve as a reminder of the dangers of going into flood waters.

Not only can the floodwater wash in a variety of potentially dangerous wildlife, but it can contain deadly pathogens carried in from different water systems during heavy rainfall. The contaminated water could result in the loss of limbs or even death, a University of Florida researcher confirmed to Newsweek Wednesday morning.

After testing samples of floodwater from Hurricane Ian last year, Antarpreet Jutla, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Florida, and his colleagues found two pathogenic bacteria, both of which have high mortality rates.

"They get this pathogen and then the mortality rates from these pathogens is pretty high, or people who get this infection end up losing limbs or arms or dying," Jutla said.

The pathogens get into the floodwater due to a massive inundation of freshwater and clearwater systems combining after heavy rainfall, Jutla said. He urged people to avoid floodwater when possible, especially those with cuts or scrapes.