Locust Plague 2020

Nov 27 2020
Cyclone Gati, the strongest storm to hit Somalia, has dumped two years' worth of rain in two days. Cyclone Gati is the strongest storm to hit the Horn of Africa nation since satellite records began - bringing two years of rain in two days and wind speeds of 170 kph (105 mph) to northeastern Somalia's Puntland region. The United Nations said eight people have died and 180,000 people have had their lives disrupted, with more than a dozen towns and villages inundated by floodwaters, which have destroyed homes and businesses and submerged crops and pastures. 

Impoverished Somalia is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change but it receives little climate adaptation funding, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Saturday, 14 November 2020

A rifle on his back, Mohamed Yasin tries in vain to chase away the swarm of yellow-coloured insects that have invaded his farm as his camels mill about nearby. Swarming on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, locusts are eating away at Yasin’s livelihood, destroying maize and beans and all his grass. “We have asked the government to help us on how we will fight the locusts as they are turning everywhere into a desert,” Yasin told Reuters.

The insect plague hitting Somalia is part of a once-in-a-generation succession of swarms that have swept across East Africa and the Red Sea region since late 2019, driven by unusual weather patterns. 
The heaviest rains in a century leave six million people affected by flooding this year in East Africa with more than a million homes destroyed and the situation set to worsen in November: Millions more have suffered unprecedented desert locust swarms destroying massive amounts of crops
Nearly six million people have been affected by flooding this year in East Africa. Data from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 1.5 million people have been displaced by the floods. The number of people affected has increased more than five-fold in four years. The number has gone up from 1.1 million in 2016 to nearly six million so far this year.

There are fears that the situation will worsen when the peak of the short rains in November to hit most countries in the region. Parts of the region are recording the heaviest rains in a century. In 2019, a big temperature differential between the east and west sides of the Indian Ocean was blamed for heavy rainfall.

Migratory locusts, not to be confused with the larger desert locust. Credit Wikipedia 

Authorities in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are scrambling to control titanic swarms of migratory locusts, which have put 7 million people in the southern region at risk of famine. The four countries have launched pesticide spraying efforts to combat the invasion, as the United Nations warns that up to 7 million people risk experiencing food insecurity.

Smallholder farmers in Botswana lost their entire harvest at the start of the southern outbreak in May, with the growing region of Pandamatenga and its key sorghum crops at risk. Namibia's initial outbreak in the Zambezi plain has spread to key farming regions, while locusts in Zambia are spreading rapidly and affecting both crop and grazing lands.
A new locust swarm arrives in Argentina from Paraguay, swarms moving north into Brazil: Meanwhile, risk of swarm migration from the Horn of Africa prevails: China is the latest country infected.
Dense hopper band in Sudan. Credit Wikipedia
Detection of a new locust swarm from Paraguay (Translated from Spanish). The second swarm arrives.
There are two swarms that are in our country, (Argentina) one in the province of Entre Ríos and the other in the area of Formosa.
A month ago Argentina and Brazil said they were monitoring the movement of what was then a 15-square-kilometre locust swarm. The three countries are among the world’s biggest soybean exporters. 
Buenos Aires - The National Service for Agrifood Health and Quality (Senasa) confirms the detection of a new swarm in Formosa, which came from Paraguay. In the region, there are three locust swarms detected, one in the Central Chaco area of ​​Paraguay, the other two in our country. So far this year, this is the second entry of the plague from the neighbouring country.
If you thought the locust swarms around the world were over because it is not mentioned on MSM anymore, think again. The 2020 locust invasion just keeps on growing. China is the latest country to join the ever-growing list of countries being devastated by locust invasions. Swarms of yellow-spined bamboo locusts have destroyed about 26 square miles of fields in Pu'er after raiding the city from China's border with Laos, the local government said.

The Pu'er forestry authority yesterday issued an early warning, predicting a potential locust 'disaster' in China's southern border regions after the spread of the pests 'accelerated'. The authorities identified the insect to be yellow-spined bamboo locust that inhabits in south-eastern Asia. 
The unprecedented Desert Locust threat to food security and livelihoods persists in the Horn of Africa and is increasing in southwest Asia. In the Horn of Africa, second-generation spring swarms are present in northwest Kenya, eastern Ethiopia, and parts of Somalia. Breeding continues in eastern and northern Ethiopia and in central and northern Somalia where hopper bands are present.

Most of the swarms in northwest Kenya will migrate northwards and cross South Sudan to Sudan while other swarms will migrate to Ethiopia. A few swarms could transit northeast Uganda. Swarms that concentrate in northern Somalia are likely to move east to the Indo-Pakistan summer breeding areas.
India was recently battered by a super typhoon, is currently suffering torrential rain and flooding and heatwaves as well as battling a surge in Covid-19 cases and at least five states are being overrun by massive locust swarms since the beginning of May and showing no signs of slowing down.

New footage shows a massive swarm of locusts invading the Indian city of Gurugram, located just southwest of New Delhi. The cloud of insects is a rare sight in the city – a posh financial and technology hub. The locusts descended upon the streets of Gurugram on Saturday, flying in a large, cloud-like mass and resting upon anything they pleased. The invasion was anticipated, and the local authorities urged residents to close their doors and windows beforehand.
Marching on together! South America becomes the third continent after Africa and Asia to succumb to locust plagues. 

'Astonishing' huge swarm of locusts are sweeping through farmland and ruining crops in South America making it the third continent this year to succumb to locust plagues. Short-horned locusts,  capable of devouring the same amount of crops as 2,500 people would each day are thought to have arrived from neighbouring Paraguay recently. The swarms are heading toward the large metropolitan area of Sante Fe. Lanteri community president Pipo Garcia described the swarm as "astonishing" and said he has never seen anything like it. The swarms are expected to move into Brazil. A video of a swarm can be seen
As the riots in the US grab the headlines this week, the unprecedented invasion by desert locusts has increased and hit large swathes of India and Pakistan who are in the middle in the middle of their battle with coronavirus pandemic. According to the FAO, large and aggressive swarms of these crop-devouring short-horned insects have invaded more than two dozen districts covering more than 50,000 hectares of desert areas of western India. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are the worst affected states. To make matters worse parts of India saw temperatures rise to 47.6C on Tuesday, as most of north India faced severe heatwave conditions. 
Floods and landslides in Kenya have killed nearly 200 people, displaced 100,000 and strained critical infrastructure, with unprecedentedly high water levels at two dams forcing the evacuation of villagers at risk, officials said on Wednesday. The heavy rain, which accelerated in mid-April, is expected to continue in already hard-hit areas in the coming weeks, the Kenya Meteorological Department said in its most recent forecast. May usually marks the end of the rainy season.

In Budalangi, western Kenya, residents have had to carry their belongings away from their submerged houses using boats and motorbikes, after the River Nzoia burst its banks, spilling over the land for miles around. Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna said on Twitter that over the past three weeks, floods had displaced 100,000 people — complicating efforts to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 24 people in the country.
April has seen torrential rain from East Africa to Pakistan which is feeding the biggest locust plague the world has ever seen while Covid-19 is silently expanding in the poorest countries of the world. Map FAO

A three-pronged attack is overwhelming the worlds most vulnerable countries affecting hundreds of millions of the most food-insecure people on the planet. April has seen torrential rain from East Africa to Pakistan which is feeding the biggest locust plague the world has ever seen while Covid-19 is silently expanding in the poorest countries of the world.

In countries whose medical systems are under-resourced, the health crisis could be compounded by a hunger crisis and lost livelihoods, according to the FAO.
As the coronavirus death toll approaches 200,000 and more than 2.5 million confirmed cases, understandably the world is looking away from a global humanitarian catastrophe of Biblical proportion happening elsewhere. A deepening crisis is exploding in many parts of the world as more frequent natural disasters and changing weather patterns along with poverty and conflict. According to a new report from the World Food Programme (WFP) the world is facing a perfect storm. 135 million people are facing crisis levels of hunger or worse, coupled with an additional 130 million on the edge of starvation prompted by Coronavirus.
While the eyes of the world are on the novel coronavirus, East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Southwest Asia and Pakistan continues to struggle with another crisis of biblical proportions: growing swarms of ravenous locusts. Both crises are extraordinary in scale, and both foes multiply so quickly that governments are struggling to contain them. Torrential rain is causing a dramatic increase in locust numbers in East Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen.
On January the 11th, 2019, the holiest site in Islam was swarmed by a plague of locusts, forcing cleaners into action to drive the insects out. The Great Mosque in Mecca, which hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims every year and is the holiest site in Islam was the birthplace of a plague which in just over 12 months would grow into billions, stretching from the western border of China sweeping through Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, through Arabia the Middle East, northern Africa and all the way down to Southern Africa.
Desert Locust situation update... 
Swarm increase expected in East Africa Widespread rains that fell in late March could allow a dramatic increase in locust numbers in East Africa, eastern Yemen and southern Iran in the coming months.
EAST AFRICA The current situation in East Africa remains extremely alarming as hopper bands and an increasing number of new swarms form in northern and central Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia. This represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods because it coincides with the beginning of the long rains and the planting season. 
Severe rains and cyclones are ideal conditions for locust breeding. As climate change is making extreme weather more common, preventing locusts from becoming swarms is increasingly important. @FAO/Sven Torfinn
Most of the countries below have been or is suffering record rainfall which is helping the locusts breed in unprecedented numbers.
It is the same species of locust God used against the Egyptians in the epic Bible Book of Exodus. The Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria),  and they are the most destructive migratory pest in the world. The massive Plague of locusts is set to descend upon the Middle East in time for Passover, however, the swarms are expecting to miss the Holy Land. 
It is the same locust God used against the Egyptians in the epic Bible Book of Exodus. The Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria),  and they are the most destructive migratory pest in the world. The massive Plague of locusts is set to descend upon the Middle East in time for Passover, however, the swarms are expecting to miss the Holy Land. (Where have we heard this before?)

On January the 11th, 2019, the holiest site in Islam was swarmed by a small plague of locusts, forcing cleaners into action to drive the insects out. The Great Mosque in Mecca, which hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims every year and is the holiest site in Islam was the birthplace of a plague which in just over 12 months would grow into billions, stretching from the western border of China sweeping through Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, through Arabia the Middle East, northern Africa and all the way down to Southern Africa
Hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter of a century, threatening crops and livelihoods. Credit Reuters.

On January the 11th, 2019, the holiest site in Islam was swarmed by a plague of locusts, forcing cleaners into action to drive the insects out. The Great Mosque in Mecca, which hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims every year and is the holiest site in Islam was the birthplace of a plague which in just over 12 months would grow into billions, stretching from the western border of China sweeping through Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, through Arabia the Middle East, northern Africa and all the way down to Southern Africa. 
The Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is the most destructive migratory pest in the world. They are ravenous eaters who consume their own weight per day, targeting food crops and forage. Just a single square kilometre of the swarm can contain up to 80 million adults, with the capacity to consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. Large swarms pose a major threat to food security and rural livelihoods. FAO has long-standing expertise in monitoring Desert Locust populations and helping countries cope with this devastating crop pest.
New swarms forming in Somalia and starting in Kenya
The situation remains extremely alarming in the Horn of Africa, specifically Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms are starting to form, representing an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods at the beginning of the upcoming cropping season.

Desert Locust situation update
Swarms invade the Persian Gulf and continue to breed in the Horn of Africa.  
The situation remains extremely alarming in the Horn of Africa, specifically Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms are expected to form in the coming weeks.
In the past few days, there has been a significant movement of swarms over the Arabian Peninsula, unrelated to the Horn of Africa, that reached both sides of the Persian Gulf.
The story of how a small plague of locusts grew into billions in just over 12 months stretching from China sweeping all the way to Botswana in South Africa
On January the 11th, 2019, the holiest site in Islam was swarmed by a plague of locusts, forcing cleaners into action to drive the insects out. The Great Mosque in Mecca, which hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims every year and is the holiest site in Islam was the birthplace of a plague which in just over 12 months would grow into billions, stretching from the western border of China sweeping through Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, through Arabia the Middle East, northern Africa and all the way down to Southern Africa.

On Wednesday, 17 April 2019, after unprecedented floods killed more than 80 people and damaged or destroyed 100,000 homes, Iran is now bracing its self for swarms of locusts. 
Bahrain is the latest country to be invaded by the Locust Plagues: Swarms of locusts darken the skies in Bahrain as they move eastward toward China (Videos)
A huge swarm of locusts stopped traffic on a major highway in Bahrain yesterday, as the insects entered the country on high winds, ironically coming back home to the region where the original plague began back in January 2019.
Terrifying videos on YouTube show the insects landing on car windscreens as a large column flies overhead. The swarm is thought to have spread from Saudi Arabia, where they had been seen in regions including Riyadh, Mecca and Qassim because of strong winds. 

Back in January 2019, the Great Mosque in Mecca, which hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims every year and is the holiest site in Islam was hit by a plague of locusts which is thought to have been the origin of the massive plagues now stretching from South Africa to China's Western border. 
Like a thief in the night! Locust Plague Timeline: The Biblical plague started ironically at the holiest site in Islam in 2019: It now stretches from the Chinese border to South Africa: New swarms in China, Botswana and South Sudan
The worst locust outbreak in nearly a hundred years is spreading fast, the FAO yesterday announced South Sudan and Botswana, the first southern African nation has been invaded by migratory locusts and in a separate, unconfirmed report the locust plague has reached the Western borders of coronavirus-hit China, the area of the plagues are vast and the numbers of countries now affected enormous, see map above. A small plague was reported on TBW back in Jan 2019 ironically at the holiest site in Islam. The locusts were filmed swarming around the Great Mosque in Mecca, since then the plague has stretched from the Chinese border to South Africa. 
The worst locust outbreak that parts of East Africa have seen in 70 years has reached South Sudan, a country where roughly half the population already faces hunger after years of civil war, officials announced Tuesday. 
Locust Swarm Update: UN warns of 'major shock': Africa locust outbreak spreads: Swarms of billions of locusts destroying crops in Kenya, biggest outbreak in 70 years, as well as Somalia and Ethiopia, India and Pakistan
Uganda scrambled to respond to the arrival of the biggest locust outbreak that parts of East Africa have seen in decades, while the United Nations warned Monday that “we simply cannot afford another major shock” to an already vulnerable region. An emergency government meeting hours after the locusts were spotted inside Uganda on Sunday decided to deploy military forces to help with ground-based pesticide spraying, while two planes for aerial spraying will arrive as soon as possible, a statement said.

Aerial spraying is considered the only effective control. The swarms of billions of locusts have been destroying crops in Kenya, which hasn’t seen such an outbreak in 70 years, as well as Somalia and Ethiopia, which haven’t seen this in a quarter-century.
African and Middle East Locust swarms update: A day after Pakistan declared a state of emergency Somalia has declared a national emergency: Agriculture Organization (FAO) "worst situation in 25 years"
Somalia has become the first country in the Horn of Africa to declare a locust infestation sweeping the region as a national emergency. The country's Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Sunday the desert locust surge "poses a major threat to Somalia's fragile food security situation"."Food sources for people and their livestock are at risk," it added. "The desert swarms are uncommonly large and consume huge amounts of crops and forage.
"The ministry said the emergency declaration was made to focus efforts and raise funds because it was critical to contain the locust swarms before harvests are due in April. Desert locusts - whose destructive infestations cause large-scale crop damage and hunger - are a species of grasshopper that live largely solitary lives until a combination of conditions promote breeding...
A state of emergency declared in Pakistan to tackle the biggest locust attack in decades. The unprecedented locust swarms now stretch from India all the way down to Kenya in East Africa
Blue broken line showing the incredible number of countries suffering from the locust plagues
A state of emergency was declared in Pakistan to tackle the biggest locust attack in decades. The insects are destroying crops in Punjab province. The Punjab province in Pakistan is the main region for agricultural production. Prime Minister Imran Khan approved a National Action Plan (NAP) that requires a sum of Rs 7.3 billion to overcome the crisis. Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar informed the National Assembly about the gravity of the situation. Khan ordered the formation of a high-level committee to be headed by Bakhtiar to take decisions at the federal level for the elimination of insects. He has directed the authorities concerned to take immediate measures on the basis of damage of ripened crops.
Locust Plague Update" Devastation is unsurmountable." The unprecedented plagues of locusts sweeping across East Africa to grow 500 times bigger by June: One swarm contains billions of locusts
Oxfam is preparing for a potential response as swarms of locusts sweep across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia and is likely to grow 500 times bigger by June to neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan.
The plagues are hitting the East African region where food insecurity has already reached record levels following unprecedented droughts and in some areas flash floods and millions more are at risk to go hungry unless these swarms are immediately controlled, warned Oxfam today. 
"Unprecedented!" Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are suffering biggest locust swarm in 70 years: India, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen are also seeing substantial breeding activity
Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are dealing with desert locust swarms of “unprecedented size and destructive potential” that could spill over into more countries in East Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday. Destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of crops, the outbreak is impacting the region’s food insecurity. The UN agency urged for a collective campaign to deal with the crisis, concerned over the risk that the swarms spill over into more countries in East Africa, “if efforts to deal with the voracious pest are not scaled up across the region”.
Just 1 swarm measured 60 kilometres (37 miles) long by 40 kilometres (25 miles) wide: The most serious outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa
The most serious outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, authorities say. Unusual climate conditions are partly to blame. The locust swarms hang like shimmering dark clouds on the horizon in some places. Roughly the length of a finger, the insects fly together by the millions and are devouring crops and forcing people in some areas to bodily wade through them.
Near the Kenyan town of Isiolo on Thursday, one young camel herder swung a stick at them, with little effect. Others tried to shout them away. An "extremely dangerous increase" in locust swarm activity has been reported in Kenya, the East African regional body reported this week.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jesus is coming

28 February 2020 at 23:24
Carl Barry Fontana said...

These are the Last Days as referred to in the Holy Bible. It's gonna get a lot worse. https://www.facebook.com/musicofcarlbarryfontana/

9 March 2020 at 00:33
ASK TOM said...

Actually, this is the most spiritually eventful dispensation since the creation of this world. We are a privileged people if we are following our Lord & Savior and have a personal relationship that will help us through, this is not a movie, it is real life. Bow and beg the Lord for protection.

19 March 2020 at 16:56
Gary Walton said...

Tom...Amen

20 March 2020 at 11:15
lillibet said...

There is safety in the secret place of the most High. When you pray and repent daily, the Father will protect you. Pray Psalm 91 and act like it is your promise. God's word is alive. "ten thousand shall fall at your right hand, but it shall not touch you."

15 April 2020 at 06:00

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)