2011 Video Of Tsunami In Japan Passed Off As China
BOOM found that the video was an aftermath of a tsunami which hit Ishinomaki, Japan in March, 2011.
A 2011 video of excessive flooding caused by a tsunami in Japan's Ishinomaki area has resurfaced with claims that it is from China where cities were devastated by recent floods.
The video shows dramatic footage of water gushing into an urban area and sweeping away whatever comes its way. Parked cars are seen being swept away by the tremendously overflowing water, as it floods the area within moments. The user has filmed the video from the rooftop of a building.
The video is also doing the rounds with a caption which takes a dig at China based on a unverified narrative that the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is manmade and was created in a lab in Wuhan. The translated caption reads, "China sent the virus and betrayed the world. Now God is betraying it (China)." Original text in Hindi: चीन ने वायरस भेजकर दुनिया को धोखा दिया अब ऊपर वाला उसे धोखा दे रहा है)
Click here to view one such post and here for an archive.
BOOM also received the same footage on its Whatsapp tipline number for verification.
Screenshot of the message received by BOOM.
The same video was shared in March this year with claims that it showed a collapsing hydro-power plant project in Asuppo, Laos. Read the debunk here.
Also Read: Photos Of Indian Ambassador To Belarus Peddled As Facebook's Ankhi Das
Fact Check
Upon doing a reverse image search of the key-frames of the video we found a longer version of the video of 4 minutes 24 seconds that was uploaded to YouTube on April 30, 2012. According to the description of the video it documented the 2011 Japan Tsunami in Ishinomaki.
The user also credited another YouTube channel, "Takuro Suzuki" who uploaded the video to the platform in December , 2011. The uploader stated the video was from Miyagi area.
The description of the video reads, "Ishinomaki Tidal Wave' East Japan's Earthquake. Photo of Ishinomaki-shi, Miyagi. Don't get stuck in such a bad condition. It's impossible. I'm taking this picture from the roof of Ishinomaki Gas (Company)"
BOOM was also able to corroborate that the video was clicked adjacent to the Ishinomaki Gas Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Below is a comparison of the location from screengrabs of the video and images available on Google Maps. Click here to see the street view of the plant.
According to a timeline available in the website of Ishinomaki Gas co Ltd , The Great East Japan earthquake hit the area in March, 2011 where the head office and manufacturing plant were directly affected.
According to a report in Nikkei, the damaged Ishinomaki Gas production facility was expected to be restored by 2012. Read Nikkei's report.
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