Old video from Spain falsely attributed to cyclone Biparjoy in Gujarat

Context

Cyclone Biparjoy has intensified into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm," according to India's weather forecasting agency India Meteorological Department (IMD). According to IMD, it is expected to cross Gujarat's Saurashtra and Kutch regions and adjoining Pakistan coasts and make landfall between Mandavi and Karachi on June 15, 2023. 

Social media has seen a rise in posts referencing cyclone Biparjoy. One such video shows huge waves hitting a path along the sea. Users shared the video saying it was in Gujarat. One posted, "Under the influence of very severe cyclonic storm "Biparjoy" in Arabian sea which is passing nearby Gujarat coast, quite extreme sea-tides are being observed at Madhavpur (Gujarat). 

Another user shared the video and wrote, "Cyclone Biparjoy effect in the coastal areas of Somnath and Dwarka in Gujarat with high tide. Waves of 20 to 30 feet rise." However, this video is old and unrelated.

In Fact

Through reverse image search, we traced the video back to 2021. On January 21, 2021, a Facebook user, World Fabulous Things, shared a video with the caption, "It's North of Spain." The description box read, "It happens roughly twice a year due to deep water sea wave that can reach up to 24m height." At the 1:48 mark, we can see the same frames seen in the viral video. 

Similarly, a YouTube channel named Rising Rocks published a video in January 2021 captioned, "Deep sea sea waves it's north of spain." The description of this video read: "It's North of Spain, it happens roughly twice a year due to deep water sea wave that can reach up to 24m height." The same footage can be seen in this video as well.

Alamy also shared an image of a wave striking a similar-looking path and captioned it, "Waves crashing into the Paseo Nuevo in San Sebastian, in the Basque country." 

San Sebastian travel guide wrote an article on the New Promenade or Paseo Nuevo and carried an image of waves striking the promenade. They mentioned that it has become famous for sea waves hitting the promenade when the tide roughens.

We were able to match the barricade, the walking path, and the lampposts in the YouTube and Facebook videos to the image seen on Alamy, as well as the image on the travel website. We also noted a hill to the left of the promenade, with a house atop it in all the visuals.

Using the clues from above, we geolocated the Paseo Nuevo in San Sebastian on Google Maps. In one Google Map location, we noticed a sculpture called Eraikin Hutsa, an asymmetrical structure we also noted in the YouTube video by Rising Rocks at the 0:43 mark. 

Further, we could match the lamp post and the staircase near the structure. In the second Google Map link, we noted the same fence-like barricade between the bricked wall, the lamppost, and the no-parking post we saw in the YouTube link at the 1:52 mark. Additionally, the mountain from both map locations matches that in the viral video. 

Meanwhile, with the onset of the cyclone, Times of India reported that IMD has issued an orange alert for Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in Gujarat. As the state gears up for the cyclone, Met department officials said this is the fourth major cyclone to affect the Gujarat coast in five years. 

The Verdict

The video shows sea waves hitting a promenade in Spain and is unrelated to Cyclone Biparjoy. Further, the footage has existed on the internet since at least January 2021, whereas cyclone Biparjoy is currently ongoing. Therefore, we have marked this claim false.