FACT CHECK: Viral video of collapsing high-rise buildings not linked to Taiwan earthquake

A viral video showing the collapse of several high-rise buildings has been linked to the Taiwan earthquake.

In the video, skyscrapers can be seen crashing down, raising heavy dust while residents scream in dismay.

The 13-second video posted on X has so far garnered 55,000 views, 30 retweets, 67 likes, and 33 bookmarks.

“Multiple buildings have collapsed after a Pair of Massive 7.5 Earthquakes Strikes Triggering Tsunami Warnings,” @patrickhsu0906, an X user, captioned the video.

The video was shared by several other X users who claimed it was from the Taiwan earthquake.

“TAIWAN EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER EAST ASIA❗ Horrific scene of Skyscrapers collapsing in massive earthquake. The earthquake, which damaged buildings & caused landslides, was the largest to hit Taiwan in 25 years & was also felt in parts of China, Philippines & Japan.

“Taipei, Taiwan, A 7.4 magnitude earthquake, followed by several strong aftershocks, struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday morning, killing 9 people & injuring at least 963 People, according to Taiwan’s fire department,” another X user, @ZubairSpanish, posted.

#BREAKING: Multiple buildings have collapsed after a Pair of Massive 7.5 Earthquakes Strikes Triggering Tsunami Warnings#Taiwan #earthquake #goddamn #landslide #地震 #大地震 #樓塌 pic.twitter.com/hs9mqXIom5

— Mindset (@patrickhsu0906) April 3, 2024

THE TAIWAN EARTHQUAKE

On Wednesday, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan, causing numerous building collapses which left nine persons dead and more than 1,000 severely injured.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said the earthquake was caused by the movement in the Philippine Sea plate with the epicenter being extremely shallow and close to land.

Although earthquakes are not novel in Taiwan, Wednesday’s earthquake has been described as the strongest to hit the island in 25 years.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck in 1999, causing 2,400 deaths and leaving 100,000 injured, with thousands of buildings destroyed.

Taiwan is an island in the western Pacific Ocean situated in the line of seismic faults (ring of fire) where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.

VERIFYING THE CLAIM

TheCable subjected the video to a reverse image search and keyframe analysis on InVID, a video verification platform, and found that it had been online since August 27, 2021, on The paper Yunan information platform — a Chinese news platform.

According to the platform, 15 high-rise buildings were demolished under controlled supervision in Kunming, Yunnan city of China.

The buildings were demolished for not meeting with basic requirements of modern living and market demands, and for their dilapidated nature, due to the long time of the unfinished building.

The video was also uploaded by USA TODAY on YouTube on August 31, 2021.

VERDICT

The viral video where skyscrapers were collapsing is not from the Taiwan earthquake but from a controlled demolition in China in 2021.