Fact Check: Old video of destruction from Himachal linked to floods in Guwahati
Different parts of Northeast India are in the grip of heavy floods that have killed at least 36 people so far and damaged several infrastructures.Reportedly, more than 5.35 lakh people have been affected across 22 districts in Assam, and urban flooding in Guwahati has led to significant property damage and massive waterlogging.Now, a video, allegedly from Guwahati, has gone viral on social media showing some shops collapsing into floodwaters. Users sharing the video have captioned it, 'Pray for Assam.'
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Many users on Facebook and X have shared the video with the same claim. An archived version of the viral post can be seen here.India Today Fact Check found that the video is neither from Guwahati nor recent. The video is from Himachal Pradesh, filmed in 2023.OUR PROBEWith the help of Google Lens, we found that an Instagram user, 'the_phone_reviver,' posted the video in September 2024, stating that it shows the Sainj Valley flood of July 9, 2023.Sainj Valley is located in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. View this post on Instagram A post shared by the_phone_reviver (@the_phone_reviver)The Instagram account is managed by Surender Chauhan, a resident of Sainj. He posted the viral video on his YouTube channel in September 2024 as well.advertisementWe reached out to Surender through the phone number listed on his Facebook profile. He confirmed that the video is indeed from Sainj Valley.Surender said that he recorded the footage on his phone in July 2023, when severe floods hit the valley and other parts of Himachal Pradesh.According to Surender, his mobile repair shop was located opposite the shops seen collapsing in the video. His shop also collapsed later.He posted similar videos of the same location on his Instagram account on July 9, 2023.It is also evident from the reports that flash floods wreaked havoc on the Sainj valley in July 2023, in which 200 shops were devastated.At that time, many vloggers had also shared similar videos showing destruction in the Sainj valley.Hence, it is clear that the claim of the viral video is misleading.Trending Reel
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