By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Published: 16:26 BST, 5 August 2026 | Updated: 17:10 BST, 5 August 2026
Millions of locusts have descended on southern Russia, swallowing roads, darkening the skies and tearing through valuable farmland.
The enormous, fast-moving swarm has engulfed the Kizlyar district in the Republic of Dagestan, where the insects have dramatically reduced visibility and created dangerous conditions for motorists.
Footage from the region shows locusts filling the air and surrounding vehicles as drivers attempt to navigate through the biblical invasion.
Stunned visitors watched as the insects flooded the skies, with some comparing the eerie transformation to the ten plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians in the biblical narrative of Exodus.
‘Looks like one of the 10 plagues,’ one X user wrote.
‘It’s all gone Biblical, maaannn…’ another declared, while one person simply warned: ‘Biblical.’
Another invoked Moses’ warning to the Egyptian pharaoh before the plagues descended, writing: ‘Let my people go.’
The ravenous insects are also sweeping across agricultural land, threatening crops as authorities race to contain the escalating emergency.
Footage from the region shows locusts filling the air and surrounding vehicles as drivers attempt to navigate through the biblical invasion
The Bible recounts that God sent ten plagues upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery.
The first plague turned the Nile to blood, killing fish and poisoning the water, said to have occurred when Moses struck the Nile with his staff.
Following the first plague, Egypt was struck by swarms of frogs, lice or gnats, and flies, along with deadly livestock disease and painful boils.
A severe hailstorm, locust swarms, three days of thick darkness, and finally the death of every firstborn son forced Pharaoh to release the Israelites.