Seventeen dead, 900 snakes set loose as storms lash China

A torrent from a burst reservoir swamps homes in Nanning City, southern China. (Cao Yiming/Xinhua via AP)

At least 17 people have died and hundreds have been injured in storms that ripped through parts of central and southern China.

Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate, and up to 900 snakes have escaped a breeding farm that was washed away in a town in Guangxi.

More heavy rain is expected in parts of Guangxi and Guangdong on Wednesday, while Taiwan is bracing for Super Typhoon Bavi to strike the island later in the week.

China's president has called for "all out" rescue efforts after storms in southern and central China killed at least 17 people, injured hundreds more and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

Intense rain and severe flooding from Typhoon Maysak killed at least six people in southern region Guangxi, where authorities raised the flood control emergency response to its highest level in the capital, Nanning.

Video shared by state broadcaster CCTV showed a torrent of muddy water rushing past the crumbled concrete walls of a burst reservoir dam.

Residents stranded by floodwaters are evacuated in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (China Daily via Reuters)

At least 130,000 people had been evacuated but 11 were still missing, according to regional officials.

Meanwhile, thunderstorms and gale-force winds killed another 11 people and injured more than 330 in central province Hubei, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A tornado tears through Hubei province amid lightning and strong winds. (Reuters)

Almost 5,000 homes have been damaged there and 22 have collapsed.

In a flooded Guangxi town, up to 900 snakes escaped when a breeding farm washed away, Wu Zhi, the head of a local village committee, told state-owned media Red Star News.

Videos of villagers frantically trying to catch the snakes in knee-deep floodwater have gone viral on social media.

More heavy rain is expected to hit parts of Guangxi's coastal and eastern regions today, as well as south-western Guangdong, according to Water Resources Minister Li Guoying.

"Due to the impact of persistent heavy rainfall and the prolonged passage of floodwaters at high levels, the safety of reservoirs and embankments in the affected areas faces a severe test," Mr Li said.

Damage caused by a tornado in Huanggang City in central China's Hubei Province. (Wu Zhizun/Xinhua via AP)

The National Meteorological Centre said north-eastern Hubei should also brace for further heavy-to-torrential rain.

Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Bavi is expected to affect