1915 Ottoman Syria locust plague
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From March to October 1915, swarms of locusts stripped areas in and around Palestine, Mount Lebanon and Syria of almost all vegetation. This infestation seriously compromised the already-depleted food supply of the region and sharpened the misery of all Jerusalemites.[1]
Date | March 1915 (1915-03)–October 1915 (1915-10) |
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Location | Palestine, Mount Lebanon and Syria, Ottoman Syria, Ottoman Empire |
Cause | Swarms of locusts |
Outcome |
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Historian Zachary J. Foster argues that the scale of the attack was far worse than anything Syria had witnessed in many decades. He suggested further that a huge percentage of the region's major foodstuffs and sources of livelihood, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, fodder and a small but not insignificant amount of the cereals, were devoured by the locusts. "The attack diminished the 1915 winter harvest (wheat and barley) by 10–15 per cent", he noted, "and completely wrecked the 1915 summer and autumn harvests (fruits and vegetables), in ranges varying from 60 to 100 per cent, depending on the crop".[2]
The crop destruction resulted in several increases to the price of food. On 25 April 1915, The New York Times described the price increases. "Flour costs $15 a sack. Potatoes are six times the ordinary price. Sugar and petroleum are unprocurable and money has ceased to circulate."[3] Among the consequences of the event was the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon, which led to the deaths of nearly one half of Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate inhabitants from hunger and disease between 1915 and 1918.