A huge swarm of locusts filled Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar on Thursday, which blocked out a portion of the sky and caused the traffic to slow down.
Locusts have been plaguing Madagascar for years, and they are a regular sight within the country. The pests have seriously affected the country's agricultural industry, although they are commonly seen in the rural areas. However, the most recent infestation covered an area as big as Japan, and has caused destruction to the fields, The Telegraph reported. The severely warm temperature in the region caused the locusts to leave their natural habitat and fly into the city.
The plague, which started in 2012, caused the African nation to declare a state of national disaster in November of the same year. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Madagascar government drafted an emergency plan that will be carried out until 2016 to mitigate food shortage that affected 60 percent of the country's current population.
Although the swarm that visited the city produced very alarming images, the authorities assured that everything is still under control and insects will not migrate into urban areas. The government was able to exterminate the pests from 4,600 square miles of agricultural properties. The emergency plan drafted in 2013 has a budget of over $41 million from donations; $22 million is allocated for pest control, while $19 million will be spent to keep the insects in check.
"Now, it's necessary to continue because we stopped the plague, but there are still locust populations in the southwestern part of Madagascar and in the western part of Madagascar. And it is necessary to continue controlling these locust populations and the remaining swarms to avoid the plague from starting again," said Annie Monard, FAO officer, to the Voice of America.
Hundreds of residents came out of their houses to take images and videos of the swarm.
"It reminds us of the 10 plagues of Egypt," Ronald Miller, a missionary working in Madagascar told ABC News.
