Old videos showing storms falsely shared as effects of Cyclone Biparjoy

By: Ishita Goel
June 19 2023

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Context

Videos claiming to show the effects of Cyclone Biparjoy, which made landfall in Gujarat on June 15, are being shared on social media. One such post shows three videos clipped together, claiming to show the cyclone’s effects. The first clip shows objects flying away because of strong winds, and we can hear people screaming in the background. In the second video, which starts at 0:14, people are shouting in the background. We can see trees swaying and a shelter tent blown away by strong winds. In the third video, at 0:37, we can see trees swaying and vehicles parked on the ground. Two people are holding onto a truck, and an Arabic prayer is heard in the background.

However, none of these videos are related to Biparjoy Cyclone.

In Fact

Through a reverse image search, we found that the first clip in the video is from 2019. U.S.-based news site WDRB which reported the viral video on June 27, 2019, headlined "WOW! Video Of Ferocious Winds In Texas That Almost Look Like A Tornado..." WDRB also reported that a person named Samantha Martinez shot the video in Monte Alto, Texas. Metrologist Rick DeLuca, who wrote the article, explained that the wind was because of a downburst, likely caused by powerful storms. He added, "Downburst is the general term for all localized strong wind events caused by a strong downdraft within a thunderstorm." Similarly, a YouTube channel called Neoweather, run by a group of meteorologists, posted the first video on June 27, 2019, captioning it: "Texas Extreme Wind." The description stated, "Look at this crazy straight line wind from Monte Alto, Texas," Neoweather also credits Samantha Martinez for the video.

We found that the table seen at 0:01 in the viral video and at 0:01 in the video by WDRB is similar. A broomstick seen at 0:10 in the viral video and 0:07 in the video by WDRB is also the same. This shows this video is old and unrelated to Cyclone Biparjoy.

Through a reverse image search, we found that the third clip, which starts at 0:37 in the video, is from 2023. A Twitter user, 'Indonesia Weather & Disaster,' shared the viral video on January 14, 2023, stating that it shows “Toronado wind at Sumedang province, Jawa Barat” on January 13. Similarly, we found the video posted by Disaster Compilations on January 14, captioning "Tornado in Paseh District, Sumedang, Indonesia - January 13, 2023." The description of the video stated, "Dozens of residents' houses in Paseh District, Sumedang Regency reportedly suffered minor and moderate damage due to being swept by a tornado," crediting the report to an Indonesian news site TribunJabar. Even NDNews Weather posted a viral video on YouTube saying that residents were affected in Paseh, Indonesia, by a tornado.

We compared the prayer heard in the viral video at 0:45 and 2:08 in the video shared by Disaster Compilations. Also, the two men holding onto a truck at 1:08 in the viral video can be seen at 2:31 in the video shared by Disaster Compilations. Many other comparisons can be made, proving the video is unrelated to Cyclone Biparjoy.

We could not independently verify where the second clip, which begins at 0:14 in the video, is from. 

The Verdict

The video shows three instances of destruction due to heavy wind. They are old; the first is from 2019, showing Downburst in Texas, and the third is from 2023, showing a tornado from Indonesia.