By: Uzma Afreen
July 14 2023
2021 video of building collapsing in Shimla passed off as recent
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The video is two years old and is unrelated to the current rains and floods in Himachal Pradesh.
Claim ID 23f96b70
Context
A video showing a building on a hilly terrain collapsing is going viral on social media, claiming that the incident was recent and caused by the heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh. Several users are sharing the video with the caption, “A multi-storey building collapsed in Kachighati area of #Shimlthisay today evening after heavy rains (sic).” This video was tweeted on July 12, 2023. The archive version of the post can be found here.
Himachal Pradesh has been severely hit by torrential rains causing massive floods and destruction to property and human life. According to a Hindustan Times July 12 report the mayhem in the state has claimed the lives of about 20 people in two days, and the damage to infrastructure is estimated between ₹3,000 crore and ₹4,000 crore. “The scale of the damage in the entire region has been captured in visuals of bridges being swept away, boulders tumbling down hills due to rain-induced landslides, and vehicles swallowed by the gushing waters,” NDTV reported.
Several videos of floods and landslides have surfaced online. However, this video is unrelated to the heavy rains and flooding incidents in 2023.
In Fact
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video, we came across the same footage uploaded by Voice of America on October 2, 2021. The video description stated that a multi-storied building collapsed in Shimla on September 30, 2021, and no one was harmed due to the incident.
We also found similar videos posted by news agencies ANI, the BBC, and the Tribune on September 30, 2021.
“A multi-storeyed building collapsed in Kachighati area of Shimla on Thursday while two other buildings were damaged. The building fell like a house of cards, but fortunately, the building got vacated this afternoon, and no loss of life was reported,” the Tribune reported.
The BBC has also reported that the building had already been evacuated hours before it collapsed on September 30, 2021.
Back in 2021, Himachal Pradesh and neighboring states witnessed heavy rainfall and flooding. Cloudburst had led to waterlogging in several areas, and there were reports of damage to property and human life.
The Verdict
The viral video is from September 30, 2021, unrelated to the current flooding in Himachal Pradesh. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.