Fact Check: Viral video showing flooded streets is not in Chennai but Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Cyclone Fengal caused severe devastation in northern Tamil Nadu, Puducherry. Heavy rain and gusty winds triggered by the storm preceded by landfall. The cyclone disrupted the flight and train services in Chennai. Schools and colleges in several districts in Tamil Nadu have shut down.

Chennai has been cut off from southern parts of Tamil Nadu as several stretches of national highways are flooded. Train services have been severely affected, with several cancellations and Chennai-bound trains diverted via Arakkonam, resulting in delays of 6-8 hours. A devastating landslide occurred in Tiruvannamalai, which resulted in the death of 7 people when a large rock crashed into their house due to continuous rainfall caused by Cyclone Fengal.

In this situation, a video showing flooded streets is shared virally on Instagram and also YouTube with the caption on the video ‘Marina Beach, Chennai’. The video shows heavy water logging on the streets of a big city.

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Fact Check:

The claim is False. The video is not from Chennai, India, it is from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

When we searched the keyframes taken from the viral video, we found that the video has been online since September 2024.

We found an X post shared on September 3, 2024 with the caption ‘Flash floods in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after heavy rains’

It was also shared by X account named Disaster News with the caption ‘Massive flooding due to rainstorm in Jeddah in the Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia (02.09.2024)’

We also found the same video published on Newsflare with the caption ‘Heavy rain has flooded the streets of Jeddah’

The official X account of the fact check unit, Government of Tamil Nadu, also shared the information that the video is not from Chennai, but is from Saudi Arabia. They stated that the video in circulation was taken last September during the flood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and that it is not from Marina Beach, Chennai.

The video was also shared on MSN with the title ‘Saudi Arabia: Heavy rain has flooded the streets of Jeddah’. Jeddah experienced flash floods due to heavy rainfall. Roads were submerged and educational institutions were closed.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/lifestyle/saudi-arabia-heavy-rain-has-flooded-the-streets-of-jeddah/vi-AA1pU3fg?ocid=U482DHP

Hence, the viral video in circulation is not from Chennai, India. It is from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia