Old, unrelated videos shared as damage from Storm Daniel in Libya

Context

On September 12, Storm Daniel made landfall in the Libyan port city of Derna, causing massive floods in the eastern part of the country, as two dams collapsed due to rain. Reuters reported that as of September 13, the death toll is over 5,000, and 10,000 people have been reported missing. 

In the wake of this storm, several misattributed videos have been circulating on social media, claiming to show the devastation caused by the storm in Libya.

What is the claim?

One such video on X (formerly Twitter), which had over 105,800 views at the time of writing, was shared with the caption: “Terrifying scenes from the hurricane in Libya.” The video is a compilation of small clips that depict the devastation caused by a storm. It is also viral on Facebook with a similar claim. Archived links of the posts can be found here and here.

Screenshots of a claim made online. (Source: Facebook/Screenshots)

However, the clips included in the video are old and being shared with incorrect claims. 

What are the facts?

The viral footage has about seven different clips.

We found the first, second, and third visuals — of a car park, a branch being blown away by the wind, and trees blowing in the wind — seen till timestamp 0:13 in the viral footage, in from an Instagram post that dates back to July 25, 2023, shared by the account "weather.al." The video has been viral since then, connecting it with different locations. Although we could not ascertain the exact emergence and location of these visuals, they were on the internet before Storm Daniel made landfall in Libya.

Comparison between the viral clip and the original post containing the video. (Source: X/Instagram/Screenshot)

The fourth visual in the video, starting from 0:14 to 0:23 seconds in the viral post — of a tornado-like formation — is an old video first published on May 3, 2022. We can find the exact video posted on YouTube by NBC News;  the visuals can be seen from the timecode 0:21 to 0:34. The video shows a massive tornado that wreaked havoc in the Kansas City, U.S., with 160 mph winds. The description reads, “Tornado watches are in effect in the Midwest as devastated parts of Kansas work to clean up damage from two twisters that tore through nearly 1,000 structures.”

Comparison between the viral clip and 2022 video. (Source: X/YouTube/Screenshot) 

The fifth visual at 0:24 mark shows a clip of tornado with lightening behind a building. The original version of the video is available on the stock footage website Shutterstock and does not feature the tornado or lightning, suggesting that it has been digitally added. Logically Facts has earlier fact-checked this clip, read here.

Comparison between the viral clip and the CGI video. (Source: X/YouTube/Screenshot) 

The sixth scene in the viral clip, from 0:34 to 0:54, is also a video of the tornado that hit Kansas City in 2022. The same visuals can be found on another YouTube video posted by DNAIndian News.  

The last few scenes from 0:53, as seen in the picture below, can be viewed in a YouTube video uploaded on the channel "Pecos Hank," dated April 23, 2020. We can spot the now-viral visuals in the video from 0:45 to 0:53 in the YouTube video. More visuals from the now-viral post can also be seen at the 0:55 timestamp. It shows a tornado in Oklahoma, U.S., on April 22, 2020. The visuals were also included in a New York Times report that reported on the tornado, noting that at least six were killed in the disaster.

Comparison between the viral clip and 2020 video. (Source: X/YouTube/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts) 

All the evidence justifies that the clips in the viral footage are old and unrelated to the recent Storm Daniel that hit Libya. 

The verdict

Old videos of storms and tornadoes from different cities have been falsely shared as visuals depicting the devastation caused by Storm Daniel in Libya. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.