A record-breaking plague of locusts the size of a continent is devouring the crops in the African nations of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Should the swarm span out, they would cover every nation on the continent. As the swarm currently stands, it could consume every planted crop on the entire eastern coast.
Some estimates claim this is the largest locust swarm in 25 years, while others say 70 years and even more claim it the largest ever. The pictures from the continent are overwhelming.
Ndunda Makanga, a local farmer in Kenya, reported, “Even cows are wondering what is happening. Corn, sorghum, cowpeas, they have eaten everything.”
Unfortunately, this is not a common time for the insect infestation and they will likely grow by more than 500 times when spring rains arrive in March as new vegetation grows throughout Africa. The United Nations claims the plague will alter the food supply drastically and several nations are going to experience severe food shortages.
David Phiri of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization told the Associated Press, “We must act immediately.”
Even a small swarm of the insects, experts say, “can consume enough food for 35,000 people in a single day.”
Reportedly, farmers are afraid to let their cattle out for grazing lest they be consumed by the insects or stampede, leading to their deaths or freeing them from their range units.
Currently, about 70,000 hectares (172,973 acres) of land in Kenya are already infested.
To be clear, there is no reason to believe there’s any biblical significance to the plague but it is certainly reminiscent of the plagues brought upon Egypt during the Exodus account and seems to be of the kind promised to come in Revelation 9.
Regardless, it’s spooky and a tad unsettling. Where’s DDT when you need it?
