Dramatic mudslide clip filmed in Japan, not Pakistan
The caption includes hashtags for areas in Pakistan's mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where torrential monsoon rains have triggered deadly flooding and landslides (archived link).
The video comprises several clips, with the first showing mud and debris crashing down a hillside.
Image
Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on August 18, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
Similar compilations were also shared on Instagram and X posts, as northern Pakistan was ravaged by an unusually intense monsoon season that has left more than 400 people dead (archived link).
The monsoon season brings about three-quarters of South Asia's annual rainfall, which is vital for agriculture and food security but also causes widespread destruction.
The rains that have battered Pakistan have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, leaving many residents trapped in the rubble and hundreds missing.
But the clip used at the beginning of the circulating compilation was not filmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip led to the same footage shared by Japanese outlet Sankei News on YouTube on July 3, 2021 (archived link).
The longer footage in the old report is credited to wire agency EyePress.
Its caption indicates it shows a mudslide sweeping through the Izusan neighbourhood of Atami, a town in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture, on July 3, 2021.
Image
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the Sankei News video (right)
The video corresponds to Google Street View imagery of the town, located around 90 kilometres (55 miles) southwest of Tokyo (archived link).
AFP reported that torrents of mud crashed through part of the town following days of heavy rain (archived link). The devastating landslide killed 27 people.
The video has been misrepresented several times on social media as showing unrelated disasters.
Other clips in the compilation depict raging floodwaters and buildings being toppled over.
While AFP was unable to verify if they all show the impact of the monsoon rains on northern Pakistan in August 2025, at least one of the clips is several years old.
The video of a muddy torrent furiously gushing across buildings has circulated on Facebook and YouTube since at least August 2022 (archived here and here).
The latter post says it was taken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swat district.
Image
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the video posted in 2022 (right)
Monsoon rains in 2022 submerged a third of the country and resulted in approximately 1,700 deaths.
AFP reported at the time that many rivers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had burst their banks, demolishing scores of buildings including a 150-room hotel that crumbled into a raging torrent (archived link).
Officials said that year's monsoon flooding affected more than 33 million people -- one in seven Pakistanis -- destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.
AFP earlier debunked another false claim about the recent monsoon flooding in Pakistan here.
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AFP
19 hours ago
- AFP
Dramatic mudslide clip filmed in Japan, not Pakistan
"May Allah protect all of us from natural calamities. Amen," reads the Urdu-language caption of a Facebook video viewed more than 11,000 times since it was shared on August 16, 2025. The caption includes hashtags for areas in Pakistan's mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where torrential monsoon rains have triggered deadly flooding and landslides (archived link). The video comprises several clips, with the first showing mud and debris crashing down a hillside. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on August 18, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Similar compilations were also shared on Instagram and X posts, as northern Pakistan was ravaged by an unusually intense monsoon season that has left more than 400 people dead (archived link). The monsoon season brings about three-quarters of South Asia's annual rainfall, which is vital for agriculture and food security but also causes widespread destruction. The rains that have battered Pakistan have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, leaving many residents trapped in the rubble and hundreds missing. But the clip used at the beginning of the circulating compilation was not filmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip led to the same footage shared by Japanese outlet Sankei News on YouTube on July 3, 2021 (archived link). The longer footage in the old report is credited to wire agency EyePress. Its caption indicates it shows a mudslide sweeping through the Izusan neighbourhood of Atami, a town in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture, on July 3, 2021. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the Sankei News video (right) The video corresponds to Google Street View imagery of the town, located around 90 kilometres (55 miles) southwest of Tokyo (archived link). AFP reported that torrents of mud crashed through part of the town following days of heavy rain (archived link). The devastating landslide killed 27 people. The video has been misrepresented several times on social media as showing unrelated disasters. Other clips in the compilation depict raging floodwaters and buildings being toppled over. While AFP was unable to verify if they all show the impact of the monsoon rains on northern Pakistan in August 2025, at least one of the clips is several years old. The video of a muddy torrent furiously gushing across buildings has circulated on Facebook and YouTube since at least August 2022 (archived here and here). The latter post says it was taken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swat district. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the video posted in 2022 (right) Monsoon rains in 2022 submerged a third of the country and resulted in approximately 1,700 deaths. AFP reported at the time that many rivers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had burst their banks, demolishing scores of buildings including a 150-room hotel that crumbled into a raging torrent (archived link). Officials said that year's monsoon flooding affected more than 33 million people -- one in seven Pakistanis -- destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes. AFP earlier debunked another false claim about the recent monsoon flooding in Pakistan here.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Fight to save last forests of the Comoros unites farmers, NGOs
On the most mountainous and densely populated island in the Comoros, only the most remote forests have escaped decades of deforestation -- ravages which several NGOs are now trying to repair. "We lost 80 percent of our natural forests between 1995 and 2014," Abubakar Ben Mahmoud, environment minister of the country off northern Mozambique, told AFP in a recent interview. The clearing of the forest for cultivation has compounded damage caused by the production of ylang-ylang essential oil, used in luxury perfumes, and the manufacture of traditional carved wooden doors for which the island is renowned. With a high population density of more than 700 residents per square kilometre, "Deforestation has been intensified as farmers are looking for arable land for their activities," the minister said. The brown and barren patches on the slopes are starkly visible from the headquarters of Dahari, a leading organisation in the fight against deforestation, based in the hills of Mutsamudu. The NGO last year launched a reforestation programme, working hand-in-hand with local farmers who are called "water guardians". Under a five-year conservation contract, the farmers commit to replanting their land or leaving it fallow in exchange for financial compensation, said one of the project's managers, Misbahou Mohamed. The first phase has included 30 farmers, with compensation paid out after inspection of the plots. Perfume and smoke Another significant contributor to deforestation on Anjouan, the ylang-ylang essential oil industry, has in recent years heeded calls to limit its impact. The Comoros is among the world's top producers of the delicate and sweet-smelling yellow flower, prized for its supposed relaxing properties and widely used in perfumes like the famous Chanel No 5. The production of ylang-ylang, vanilla and cloves makes up a large part of the archipelago's agricultural output, which represents a third of its GDP. The country has around 10,000 ylang-ylang producers, most based on Anjouan, according to a report commissioned by the French Development Agency for a project to support Comoran agricultural exports. Burning wood is the cheapest source of fuel for the distillation process, the report highlighted, with 250 kilogrammes (550 pounds) needed to produce one litre of essential oil. Some producers are trying to limit their use of wood, such as Mohamed Mahamoud, 67, who said he halved consumption by upgrading his equipment. "I now use third-generation stainless steel alembics, with an improved oven equipped with doors and chimneys," said Mahamoud, who has grown and distilled ylang-ylang near the town of Bambao Mtsanga for nearly 45 years. To avoid encroaching on the forest, most of his wood now comes from mango and breadfruit trees he grows himself. Drying rivers Some producers have in recent years switched to crude oil to fuel their stills. But that costs twice as much wood, said one ylang-ylang exporter, who asked to remain anonymous. And high electricity prices in Comoros mean that using electrical energy would cost 10 times more, "not to mention the long periods of power cuts", he said. Part of the drive to reduce wood consumption comes from an alarming observation: not only is deforestation stripping Anjouan's mountains, it is also drying up its rivers. Forests are essential for "the infiltration of water that feeds rivers and aquifers... like a sponge that retains water and releases it gradually", said hydroclimatologist Abdoul Oubeidillah. "In 1925, there were 50 rivers with a strong year-round flow of water," said Bastoini Chaambani, from the environmental protection NGO Dayima. "Today, there are fewer than 10 rivers that flow continuously." The Comoros government has meanwhile announced it also intends to take part in reforestation efforts.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Rooms of their own: women-only communities thrive in China
Women come to share mutual support and "talk freely about intimate stuff" while others seek companionship or refuge from harassment, participants told AFP after making steamed buns in a bright kitchen overlooking the mountains. "An all-women environment makes me feel safe," said Zhang Wenjing, 43. "Among women, we talk more easily about certain things," she added. Chen Fangyan, 28, said she felt less self-conscious without men around. "Not being forced to wear a bra is already a kind of freedom." Demand for single-gender spaces -- including bars, gyms, hostels and co-working hubs -- has grown in China, as women flex increasing economic power to secure peace of mind and physical safety. At "Keke's Imaginative Space", participants pay 30 yuan ($4.17) a night, with costs going up to 80 yuan from the fourth day. Founder Chen Yani, nicknamed "Keke", told AFP she was motivated to open the space after bad experiences with men in the workplace. "I encountered various degrees of harassment from men, to the point where I often found myself unable to work normally," the 30-year-old said. "I started thinking about what a safe and relaxed work environment would look like... a place where I wouldn't feel apprehensive." 'Just be themselves' Chen started by renovating a house in Lin'an, a suburb of Hangzhou, roughly 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Shanghai. Believing that other women might share her desire for somewhere they could feel at ease, she organised a stay over Chinese New Year on the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu, also known as Rednote. Twelve women showed up. Some wanted a change of scenery for the holidays, others were keen to escape intrusive questioning or pressure from relatives, including to get married and have children. "Within the family, women often have to take care of grandparents, children and household chores. Not to mention work responsibilities," she said. "They need a place where they don't have to play a role and can just be themselves." Women's increasing economic independence -- as well as educational opportunities -- means a wider scope of options, said Yuan Xiaoqian, 29, a participant. "They can focus more on themselves... and on new needs," she said. Social media is also exposing women to alternative lifestyles -- particularly Rednote, which offers a growing number of options for seeking community. In Xiuxi, a village in Zhejiang, Yang Yun opened "Her Space" in June to offer women a "spiritual haven". With its rustic furniture and calligraphy on the walls, the property has the feel of a boutique hotel. The idea, she said, was to ensure women always have a place to go. "If (a woman) loses her job, her parents, has an argument with her husband, or feels exhausted by city life, she knows she can come here and find some warmth," said Yang. So far, 120 women have paid the 3,980-yuan membership fee to join the quickly expanding club. "Whether they come or not is not important. The important thing is that this place exists. It gives them mental strength," Yang said. Women still lack places Critics claim that single-gender communities foster antagonism between men and women. At Keke's Imaginative Space, Chen Yani denies that anyone is harbouring antipathy towards men and insists women have a right to spaces of their own. "Women constitute a social group with shared life trajectories and problems. It's often easier for them to understand each other and show empathy," she said. While she has yet to turn a profit, Chen said that was beside the point. "As long as there's demand, this place will continue to exist," she said. Founder of the all-women cultural space "Half the Sky" in Beijing, Lilith Jiang, said these community-oriented facilities fill a void. "Men have plenty of opportunities to socialise, while drinking or while exercising," she said. "Women don't have that." Down the line, she said non-traditional structures could offer an alternative for single women worried about ageing alone. "Women are constantly told: 'If you don't get married, what will become of you when you get older?'" said Jiang. "But long-term, all-female shared co-living spaces where women can grow old together could be a solution."
