Like something out of the bible, Najran in Saudia Arabia was descended upon by a plague of locusts over the weekend. The video footage recorded by locals showed the sheer numbers within the swarm as they can be seen creating a new layer on a thick tree. Several videos have begun circulating online since Sunday showing the scale of the infestation that has impacted countries on sides of the Red Sea.
The person behind the camera can be seen taking a shovel to the tree to scrape the locusts off to the floor with some difficulty.
As the camera pans down the nightmare-inducing amount of locusts can be seen, moving in a skin-crawling fashion.
The cameraman then pans upwards to show that it is not just the trunk and base of the tree that has been covered but the higher branches as well.
Another video recorded shows the difficulty the plague adds to drivers in the area as the locusts fly in large numbers.
Earlier this year, the United Nations warned that swarms of locusts would be bearing down on Saudi Arabia and spreading among the Red Sea thanks to unusually heavy rainfall.
The UN also called on countries in the flight path to take the necessary precautions to ensure the insects make a limited impact.
Locust swarms contain up to 80 million insects per square mile and they can extend for hundreds of square miles.
The biggest fear surrounding locusts is the amount of food they can consume in a short period of time, a “small swarm” weighing about one ton can eat the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people.
Plagues can consume fruits, crops, vegetation in their path ultimately causing devastation to farmers and locals.