1 year ago
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Several old videos from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Massachusetts, USA, and Karnataka showing tornados and floods are being shared online as videos of the Biparjoy cyclone that recently struck Gujarat. BOOM found that the videos are unrelated to Biparjoy and have been revived from older incidents of natural disasters.
Cyclone Biparjoy caused heavy rains and strong winds in parts of Gujarat before moving towards Rajasthan this week. Its intensity, however, is lowering as it progresses and it has been declared as a 'severe cyclonic storm', bringing it a notch down from 'very severe cyclonic storm'.
Several old videos have been shared in this context to claim that they are from the Biparjoy cyclone.
1. Video showing houses drowned amid floods
A one-minute clip showing houses drowned in a flood is being shared as a video from Kutch, Gujarat and linked to the Biparjoy cyclone. A woman in the background is heard speaking in Gujarati and talking about how their entire house and kitchen have drowned in the flood. A caption on Twitter reads, "#CycloneBiparjoyUpdate 🚨 Situation in Kutch, Gujarat. A girl can be heard saying in Gujarati that they look at their home kitchen all being Destroyed."
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
A reverse image search of some keyframes from the video led us to an article about the floods in Gujarat's Saurashtra region that occurred in September 2021. Using this information, we looked for the video on YouTube and found a report by OneIndia News from September 14, 2021 titled 'Gujarat floods: Heavy rains in Saurashtra as NDRF, IAF respond | Oneindia News'. Our portion of the viral video begins from the 0:32 mark of the video.
A page on Facebook @WeatherGujarat (ગુજરાત હવામાન સમાચાર) uploaded the same video on September 13, 2021 and informed that it was taken in Dhudasiya village in Jamnagar. Watch here.
BOOM could not independently verify the exact time and location of the video, but it is at least as old as September 2021.
2. Tree falling on a moving scooter
A 30-second video showing a tree falling on a moving scooter has been shared as a video from the Biparjoy cyclone. A user on Twitter shared the video with the caption, "Unfortunate incidents keep on occuring due to heavy winds. Unsafe to travel outside. #CycloneBiporjoy"
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
BOOM found that the video was from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and was not related to the Biparjoy cyclone.
A keyword search of the incident on Twitter led us to a report by NDTV published on May 30, 2023 which carried the same video. According to the report, the incident took place in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, when three people riding on a scooter were injured after a tree fell on them. Similar reports by other news outlets published on the same date can be seen here and here.
3. Tornado video from backyard
The video of a tornado taken shot from a backyard is being shared online as a video of the Biparjoy cyclone from Dwarka, Gujarat. A user on Twitter wrote, "NDRF personnel conducting clearance operations at Devbhumi Dwarka (Gujarat) after Cyclone, #CycloneBiparjoyUpdate."
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
BOOM found that the video is likely from the Andover tornado that hit Massachusetts, USA, in May 2022.
A reverse image search of one of the visuals of the video on Google led us to several videos from May 2022 uploaded on social media. According to a video uploaded on May 5 by KAKE, a news station affiliated with ABC, the video was taken by an Andover resident, Taylor Train from his backyard. KAKE also informed that Train's house was left in shambles after the tornado. However, Brian Rawson, a man whose life Train had saved after he got a heart attack helped start a GoFundMe page to collect funds for Train's family to restore their house.
4. Video showing furniture getting blown away by strong winds
A 26-second clip showing several pieces of furniture including chairs and tables flying away due to the strong wind is going viral online as the Biparjoy cyclone. A caption on Twitter reads, "Gujarat and neighbouring states are facing Cyclone Biparjoy from 13th-16th...there has been very strong wind blowing at over 150km/h causing mass destruction of properties and buildings. The condition is dire but I'm safe and we hope things will get back to normal."
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
BOOM had previously debunked this claim in May 2022 when it went viral as a video of Cyclone Asani that occurred in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Read our fact-check here.
BOOM found that the video is likely from Hubballi, Karnataka and was taken near the Hubballi Airport on May 5, 2022.
A keyword search of the incident using 'chairs and tables flying due to strong wind' led us to a story by Hubballi Times published on May 5 which carried the same video. According to the story, furniture and crockery from a canteen were captured flying due to the powerful wind in the area. Another local news outlet, Hubballi-Dharwad Infra, shared the same video on their Twitter account and informed that the incident took place at the staff canteen at Hubballi airport.
