07 December 2023 , 16:58
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A plague of locusts has swarmed a popular tourist city, sparking horror of a "biblical warning" among locals.
Videos show the mass of insects painting the clear sky black in colour. The outbreak of locusts was spotted in several areas of Mérida, near Cancun in Mexico. The city is the capital of Yucatán State and is rich in Mayan and colonial heritage, making it popular with thousands of tourists that flock there each year.
On Tuesday (5 Dec), millions of insects filled the sky over the city’s northern and western suburbs, spooking local residents. Locust plagues are associated with the Book of Exodus, the second religious book of the Bible, and many people consider them an omen of an impending natural disaster.
Millions of insects filled the sky over the city’s northern and western suburbs (Jam Press Vid)
The locusts swarmed the sky Yucatán State, Mexico (Jam Press Vid)After the insects’ appearance sparked concern, the State Rural Development Secretariat (SEDER) announced that they were monitoring their activity and launching extermination protocols. The authority said they were a “remnant” of a polluted area in a nearby jungle and are “expected to leave the city in two days”.
SEDER added that they will wait to see where the locusts settle at night, which they hope will be in a remote area, and carry out “control protocols” in the early hours of the morning.
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One local commented: “It's the end of times. Repent.” Gabriel said: “Exodus 10: 1-20.” Alex wrote: “We haven’t seen this for so long. Yes it’s a plague, but how wonderful!”
Someone else commented: “Locust plagues have existed throughout history and are not a sign of the end of the world. These pests are a result of their ability to reproduce rapidly under certain favourable environmental conditions."
In Biblical times, the locust was seen as a harbinger of doom. The most well-known reference is from the Book of Exodus, in which Moses warns the Pharaoh that the kingdom of Egypt would be ravaged by plagues should he refuse to free the Israelites and let them return to Canaan.
Of the 10 plagues, the eighth was a plague of locusts. Moses told the Egyptian Pharaoh there would be so many locusts will "cover each and every tree of the land and eat all that is there to be eaten".
Locusts were just one element of God's wrath, with the other plagues seeing the Nile turned into blood, frogs, lice, flies, mass livestock being killed, boils, hailstorms and fire. There was also a three-day period of darkness. The plagues finished with the death of every first-born human or animal.