Soldiers caught a huge python swimming in a flooded street amid heavy rain in Thailand.

The troops were evacuating residents when they found the huge reptile poking out of a drain in storm-battered Yala province on November 29.

Footage shows the officers dragging the 13ft snake out of the floodwaters barehanded as its body was wedged in drain grilles. They then bagged the python and handed it over to wildlife officers.

At least 25 people have died and thousand more were evacuated to relief shelters amid the 'worst flooding' to hit southern Thailand in decades.

Heavy rains have been battering the country's southern region since November 22, sparking flash floods and landslides. Though the downpours have eased, the Thai Meteorological Department warned of more rains on December 3 to 5 due to a low pressure area from the South China Sea moving through the Gulf of Thailand.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered officials to speed up relief and rescue efforts.

The reticulated python is found throughout Southeast Asia, where they live in forests, swamps, canals and even in cities, causing them to come into conflict with humans. The species is one of the world's largest snakes and can eat humans, cats, dogs, birds, rats and other snakes.