Fact Check: Viral video is of 2017 Durban sea storm not of Turkey earthquake

New Delhi (Vishvas News): Many videos and photos related to the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria are going viral on the internet showing massive destruction in the country. Similarly, a video is going viral on social media platforms in which huge Tsunami-like waves can be seen hitting coastal areas. The video is shared with a claim that this Tsunami occurred in Adana after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey on Monday. Vishvas News investigated the video and found that the video is shared with a misleading claim. The viral video is of a 2017 sea storm which hit Durban in South Africa.

Claim:

Sharing the viral video (archive link), social media user Salman D Ali wrote, “Tsunami sa Adana, Turkey matpas ang napakalakas na lindol na tumama sa regioniyon kahapon. #PrayForTurkey #PrayForSyria #Tsunami #earthquake. Several other users on different social media platforms also shared the video with the same claim.

Investigation:

To investigate the viral video, the Vishvas News team used a reverse image search to find the original source of the viral video. In the reverse image search, we found the same video on a YouTube channel named Expresso Show.

The video was uploaded on the page five years ago in a news bulletin. As per the information provided in the video bulletin uploaded on March 14, 2017, the video is of a sea storm off Brahima Fofana beach located in Durban, South Africa.

A YouTube search also found this video on Sun Newspaper’s YouTube channel, which was uploaded on March 12, 2017, in the same context.

We contacted Turkey’s fact-checking organization Teit regarding the viral video. He said that there is no information about any tsunami in Adana and that the video going viral is not from Turkey but from South Africa.

According to the news agency AFP, more than 16,000 people have died so far due to the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Over 14,000 people have died in Turkey while over 3,000 people have died in Syria.

It is noteworthy that after the Turkey-Syria earthquake, many old and unrelated videos and pictures are going viral on social media, which have nothing to do with the recent earthquake. The user who shared the viral video with the misleading claim is followed by over 4,000 people on Facebook.