2001 El Salvador earthquake image shared as landslide in Kerala's Wayanad

What’s the claim?

An image of a hill with a section of land missing on its slope has been widely circulated on social media. It is claimed to be an aerial view of the recent landslide in Wayanad in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Tamil news channel Polimer News shared this image on their official Instagram account (archived here), claiming it depicts the Wayanad landslide.

A Facebook user posted the image with the caption, "Aerial view of Kerala Wayanad, showing a landslide in Kerala Wayanad. 291 people have died in Wayanad." Archived versions of these posts are available here and here.

The image has also gained significant attention on X (formerly known as Twitter), with many believing it to be from Wayanad. Archived versions of the X posts can be found here and here.

Screenshot of claims made online. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

Our investigation, however, revealed that the image is not related to Wayanad; it is actually from the 2001 El Salvador earthquake.

What we found

A reverse image search reveals that the image is not related to Wayanad but is from the 2001 El Salvador earthquake. The same image was featured in a NASA article on global natural disaster hotspots, published in February 2006. The caption read, "The 2001 El Salvador earthquake-induced landslide, in a neighborhood near Santa Tecla, El Salvador, buried numerous homes under tons of earth." The photo was credited to photographer Edwin L. Harp and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Screenshot of 2001 image shared by NASA. (Source: NASA Earth Data)

The image also appeared in several articles, including a BBC report from January 2001 about the El Salvador earthquake. This report stated that the image depicted a landslide that buried the city of Santa Tecla.

2001 El Salvador earthquake

On January 13, 2001, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador in the Pacific Ocean, near the town of San Miguel. The earthquake triggered massive landslides, particularly in the Santa Tecla area, which buried entire neighborhoods.

Reports indicate that approximately 800 people were killed, and over 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The disaster displaced hundreds of thousands, creating significant humanitarian challenges.

Wayanad landslide

Days after severe landslides hit the Wayanad district in Kerala on July 30, the death toll has risen to over 300, according to a report by Indian Express. Rescue efforts are ongoing, with the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Navy, Air Force, state rescue teams, and the Coast Guard participating in the operation.

The verdict

An old and unrelated image is being falsely presented as aerial footage of the recent landslide in Kerala's Wayanad.