Add one more potential threat for flooding victims in the wake of Hurricane Florence: floating islands of fire ants.

NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz captured a video posted to Twitter of a group of fire ants forming together to navigate flood waters in North Carolina after Florence dumped several inches of rain in the region.

In a 2015 interview, Tim Davis, an entomologist and senior extension agent with Clemson University, said fire ants have used this floating technique for ages to escape flooding. They can typically form an island in less than two minutes.

“If the water rises, they kind of all grab a hold of each other, and they can do this for several days, until they reach higher ground,” Davis said.

Similar ant islands were spotted in flood waters in Houston following Hurricane Harvey, and also seen in Alabama and South Carolina after flooding in both states.

Davis says if you encounter a floating island of fire ants, stay away. "If one of those rafts comes in contact with you, or you try to break it apart, it will likely disperse and crawl up you."

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

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