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Authorities in eastern Australia on standby as large swarms of locust are spotted in farming areas.

The New South Wales state government had nine planes on standby in case the locust start to pose a threat to drought stricken crop yields, Australian broadcaster ABC reported on Tuesday (18 November).

Authorities do no see the current size of the locust swarm to pose a problem but farmers have been asked to report any swarms they spot.

(Reuters.com November 19, 2008)