Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
THE BIBLE — When locusts start swarming it means a plague of biblical proportions, no matter what the date is.
That’s just what’s happening in Russia this year. A swarm of locusts is making its way across the Republic of Dagestan, leaving devastated crops in its wake and causing the government to declare a state of emergency. As of July 18, over 114,000 hectares (about 282,000 acres) of farmland have been affected, according to Dagestan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine this level of destruction until you actually see what this many insects in one place looks like. When they’re on the ground eating, it’s basically a moving blanket of live bugs. (The opposite of cozy.) That in itself has its own level of hideousness, but the horror of them flying in a swarm is quite another.
In this dashcam video, you’ll see the experience from the point of view of a truck driver. At first, it looks like he’s driving into a massive dirt or sand storm — but then the bugs hit.
It’s an incredible sight and sound that no amount of words can fully describe. Let’s just say I’m eternally grateful that I have never been stuck outdoors when insects of any kind are swarming.
Government officials in Dagestan are using several methods of fumigation to try and ease and stop the current devastation.