Old videos of stormy weather falsely linked to Hurricane Milton

What's being claimed?

A compilation of nine videos showing homes getting damaged, flooding, stormy weather, and tornadoes is being shared on social media with the claim that the visuals are from Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in the U.S. on October 9, 2024.

An Instagram user shared a video (archived here) with the caption, "This is Scary as F*ck. Hurricane Milton in Florida 2024 happening just now!" Several hashtags were also included. The post received more than 1,000 likes. This video was also shared on Threads and Facebook, and archives are here and here. 

Screenshots of social media posts sharing the video. (Source: Threads/Instagram/Modified by Logically Facts)

Hurricane Milton left behind severe destruction, with homes and commercial buildings damaged across the state of Florida. Around three million people suffered power cuts, and at least 10 deaths have been linked to the hurricane, Reuters reports.

However, the viral video contains several old, unrelated visuals unrelated to Hurricane Milton.

What did we find?

Video 1

The first video shows small black items — presumably from the ceiling — falling apart and blown away in the wind amid stormy weather. The video appears to have been captured from the patio of a house. 

Through reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by the KCCI journalist Eric Hanson (archived here) on his Facebook account on July 16, 2024. Captioned "Des Moines tornado," the video description stated: "This is the moment. Evan Headley says he shot this video from his apartment near 63rd and Hickman as the tornado passed over." 

The official website of the City of Des Moines states that an EF1 tornado hit Des Moines on July 15, 2024, causing substantial damage to trees, utility poles, and private property.

The viral video compared to the July 2024 video uploaded by Eric Hanson. (Source: Instagram/Facebook)

Video 2

The second video, showing a U.S. flag furiously fluttering in the wind, dates back to 2022. 

We found a longer version of the video on the Brazilian news outlet G1 Globo, published in a May 5, 2022, report through reverse image search. The report states the video was captured during a tornado in Andover City in Kansas, U.S., on April 29, 2022. There was minor damage, and no one was injured by the tornado. 

Comparison of viral video and G1 video. (Source: Instagram/G1 news)

Video 3

The video of a wave hitting the red roof of a coastal home is from Gagra, Georgia. 

We found it is a flipped version of a video shared by a YouTube channel named Rumble Viral (archived here) on December 30, 2023. It was captioned: "Extreme storm wreaks havoc in Georgia-Gagra #shorts." 

Abkhaz World, a Georgian news outlet, reported that a storm caused damage in the country's northwestern region of Abkhazia on November 27, 2023.

Screenshot of the YouTube video. (Source: YouTube)

Video 4

The fourth video, showing a tornado spinning in the background of some houses with slanting roofs, predates Hurricane Milton. 

We found the same video on a YouTube channel named @rtsarovvideo (archived here), shared on July 16, 2023, with the caption "Tornado." The channel's bio claims the uploaded videos are "Best Edits, sometimes real."

Screenshot of the YouTube video. (Source: YouTube)

Video 5

The fifth video in the compilation is a shaky video capturing trees and two cars amid a storm. We found this video dates back to September 2024 and predates Hurricane Milton. 

Through reverse image search, we found the video posted by a YouTube channel called "Lermkhamsak channel" (archived here) on September 8, 2024. It was captioned, "Typhoon Yagi: Currents in Vietnam Today (translated from Thai)." 

The strong typhoon Yagi hit Vietnam on September 7, 2024, causing severe floods and landslides.

Screenshot of the YouTube video. (Source: YouTube)

Video 6

The visuals of waves crashing into a yellow building also date back to September 2024. 

They were posted by TikTok user Kevin Gerry (archived here) on September 27, 2024. The post was captioned, "Please keep us in your prayers Hurricane Helene is Destorying our livelihood." The now-viral video is a horizontally flipped version of this video. 

Journalist Kim Kuizon, a reporter with Fox 13 WTVT, shared an image of the damaged yellow house on her X account (archived here) on September 29, 2024. The caption reads,"White Sands Beach Resort on Holmes Beach."

We geolocated the location and found the house is the White Sands Beach Resort in Holmes Beach. It is to be noted that the video is not from Hurricane Milton but from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida only days ago, on September 29. There are no recent reports of it suffering damage due to Hurricane Milton.

Video 7

The seventh video, of two shipping containers falling to the side and crashing to the ground due to strong winds, predates Hurricane Milton and has been on the internet since September 2024. A close look at the video also shows that it seems to have been flipped, as the text appears to be mirrored. 

We found the original video on the Facebook account (archived here) of GPS Global Express Branch Hanoi, a cargo and freight company based in Hanoi, Vietnam, uploaded on September 7, 2024. 

The caption reads, "Shipping containers in Vietnam's Hải Phòng port toppled due to the powerful winds of Typhoon #Yagi." 

The video shows the containers stacked with the text "V1MC" written on them. V1MC is a shipping company based in Vietnam. Around 140 people were killed in Vietnam due to Typhoon Yagi, which was dubbed the "most powerful typhoon" to hit Asia this year. 

Comparison of viral video and GPS Global Express Branch. (Source: Instagram/Facebook)

Video 8

The viral video's visual of a roof flying off — seen at 0:49 — is actually from Brazil, not the U.S.

Through reverse image search, we found the same video shared by the Brazilian newspaper Jornal Folha de Hortolândia on October 13, 2023 (archived here). 

The caption states: "A roof flew off due to the wind and heavy rain in Vila Soma, in Sumaré. In the image, you can see the strength of the wind and that in the end, a man was very nearly hit (Translated from Portuguese)." The same video was shared by Itatiaia, a radio channel, on its website on October 15, 2023.

Comparison of viral video and Facebook video. (Source: Instagram/Facebook)

Video 9

The ninth video, panning across three palm trees next to a yellow building, dates back to 2018. 

Through reverse image search, we found a longer version of the video posted by the YouTube channel Tornado Trackers (archived here) on October 13, 2018. The video was captioned, "Extreme 4K Video of Category 5 Hurricane Michael." The part included in the viral video starts at 1:26 minutes, and the description states that the video shows Category 5 Hurricane Michael captured at Panama City Beach.

Screenshot of the YouTube video. (Source: YouTube)

The verdict

Old, unrelated visuals from different countries have been falsely linked to Hurricane Milton.