FACT CHECK: Video shows Somalia floods, not Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar

A video of flooding shared on Twitter claimed that the footage was taken from the cyclone in Myanmar

“Cyclone Mocha makes landfall, brings catastrophe,” reads one of the captions of the video.

https://twitter.com/0AfLcgZf7N6BrQj/status/1657707205754335233?s=20

Through this particular  Twitter account, the video gathered over 13.7k views. 

According to a couple of social media users, the video was allegedly filmed from Myanmar and showed the cyclone’s effect. 

After the devastating rainfall in Myanmar due to a powerful cyclone, a video of a man being swept away alongside a mobile kiosk or rickshaw by flood started circulating on several social media platforms. 

VERIFICATION

TheCable carried out a combination of keyword search and reverse image search on the keyframes of the video, which led to a clearer version of the video on YouTube. 

The YouTube version was posted on April 29, by an account focused on meteorology, although credited to Action for Women and Children Concern. 

On Youtube, the video also revealed that it was filmed in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. 

On Twitter, a post shared on May 14, targeted at correcting an earlier post, made it known that the circulating flood video was filmed in Somalia.

https://twitter.com/Jas84099651Jack/status/1657716654133104642?s=20

Findings also point to the fact that the circulating video, which was shared in April, predates the recent cyclone which occurred in Myanmar in May.

DROUGHT AND FLOOD IN SOMALIA

The prolonged and catastrophic drought which lasted for 6 years in Somalia has now been accompanied by a devastating riverine flood which has affected over 450,00 people and displaced 200,000.

According to a March report by DowntoEarth, Somalia was one of the nations in Africa that recorded six consecutive wet seasons that produced no rainfall.

CYCLONE MOCHA IN MYANMAR

On Sunday, May 14, a huge storm reported to be the strongest to hit Myanmar, caused a landfall near the country’s border with Bangladesh. 

The New York Times had reported that the maximum sustained winds reached 160 miles per hour in the early part of May 14, with gusts surpassing 180 miles per hour.

The storm has been referred to as category 5, the highest rating going by the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.

As at May 21, the government of Myanmar estimated that more than 400 people were estimated to have died.

However, a week after the storm hit the Asian country, CNN reported that the casualty figure and the depth of the destruction might be difficult to comprehend, due to flooding which affected communication and blocked roads that have made access difficult.

​​VERDICT

The claim is misleading. The outcome of the digital investigation by TheCable revealed that the viral video has nothing to do with Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar. The video of the flood was filmed in Somalia.

This fact check was produced by TheCable with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, International Fact-Checking Network, and African Fact Checking Alliance network.