Old Video of Sharjah Floods Shared as Cyclone Shaheen in Oman
The Claim
A video depicts flooding caused by cyclone Shaheen in Oman.
News posted on
Emerging story
Users on social media are circulating a clip that depicts cars being swept away due to flooding in a valley. The claim is that the video was taken in Oman following cyclone Shaheen, which has caused devastating weather. Some users pointed out that such weather impacts were due to climate change.
Misbar’s Analysis
The Misbar team investigated the claim by conducting a reverse image search using Google, the results of which are pictured below.
The findings revealed an article from the Emirati news site, the National News, which shared the circulating video with the headline “Watch: Five people rescued as 4x4s swept away in Sharjah flash floods.” As can be seen below, the article is dated 29 September 2020.
The article explains that the flash floods occurred in the Emirati state of Sharjah, which led to four cars being pushed down Wadi Shees valley by fierce waters, and that police rescued five people. Cyclone Shaheen caused strong flooding and heavy winds, leaving 13 dead. However the video does not depict Shaheen but rather flooding in The United Arab Emirates, hence the claim is found to be misleading.
