Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Agriculture Tuesday announced raising the state of emergency for desert locusts from medium to maximum.

For over three months, the ministry had been following up on the insects' movements, an official statement said.

Recent information showed that swarms of locusts has arrived from Saudi Arabia's southern and central northern regions, which called for raising the alert level to the maximum, the statement added.

Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Shehadeh highlighted the readiness of qualified and trained cadres in the ministry, adding that they will be backed by the Royal Jordanian Air Force, the Royal Badia Forces, the Customs Department, and the Aqaba Authority.

He said central emergency rooms in Amman and secondary ones in the southern region are operational.

Shehadeh pointed out that the ministry is reading the Food and Agriculture Organization's periodic publications on locust swarms. It is also coordinating with locust control centers in neighboring countries.

The ministry called for circulating only the information released by the media center of the Central Operations Room.

It also urged the public to call the following numbers for further information: the media center for desert locust control: 0791535256, the technical follow-up and field prevention unit: 0799063239.