With Passover Approaching, a Plague of Locusts Descends Upon Egypt 2013 03 04
By Adam Clark Estes | The Atlantic Wire
As
if we hadn’t already seen enough Biblical events this year, a plague of
over 30 million locusts swarmed over Egypt’s cities and farms just
three weeks before Passover begins. But put your apocalyptic fears to
rest. This happens every year as part of the locusts’ natural migration
pattern, though this year’s swarm is especially large. That doesn’t mean
Egyptians aren’t freaked the heck out by millions of nasty bugs buzzing
through the air at all hours of day and night, possibly descending upon
the agriculture fields where they’re known to destroy entire crops,
just like in the actual Passover story.The crops are so far safe, Egyptian officials assured the public. As the plague made its way from the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia at the end of last week and this weekend, though, Egyptian Agricultural Minister Salah Abdel Moamen explained the situation to the country in a calmly worded statement. "The current inspection teams at areas targeted by locusts did not witness swarms damaging a single inch of crop," said Moamen. He added that the locusts are "sexually immature and do not depend on plants for energy since they mainly rely on fat stores."
That
said, these plages can be unpredictable. Egyptian officials didn’t
expect the plague to pass by the country’s capital, until Sunday when
the locusts unexpectedly arrived in Cairo. The government denied reports
that the locusts had started devastating crops as well as a report from
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that the
Ministry of Agriculture cleared 11,000 hectares of land in an attempt to
save the harvest. When they get hungry, a one-ton hoard of locusts can
eat the same amount of food in one day as 2,500 humans, according to the
UN. Egypt knows this too. Less than a decade ago, a plague of locusts
nearly 40 miles wide swept over Egypt damaging crops at the majority of
the country’s farms. [right][...]
Read the full article at: theatlanticwire.com
