"A devastating pest outbreak is threatening millions of people with hunger."

"Mary Muthoni runs through her farm in Mathyakani, in southeast Kenya, shaking a bottle filled with pebbles at the clouds of locusts that swarmed into her village the night before. That morning, the whole community rose early to try chasing off the insects, banging on pots and pans, blowing whistles and honking motorcycle horns.

“We first woke up and prayed. We prayed that the Lord shut the mouths of the locusts,” Muthoni said.

It’s a scene that’s playing out across East Africa as swarms of desert locusts spread through the region, destroying crops and pastures at a voracious pace. The United Nations has warned of an unprecedented threat to food security in a part of the world where millions already face hunger. And the situation will probably get worse before it gets better."

David Herbling and Samuel Gebre report for Bloomberg with photographs and video by Patrick Meinhardt February 17, 2020. [2]