Video from France falsely linked to Spain floods

What is the claim? 

A 21-second video montage has been shared online, claiming to show the recent floods in Valencia, Spain. Two clips in the montage show waves battering a coastline and a promenade constructed along it. One clip shows a car passing through a flooded street. 

The claim comes after Spain issued alerts for heavy rain, high waves, and strong winds in areas including Valencia on November 12, 2024. This alert comes just two weeks after deadly floods killed at least 214 people in Spain. 

A post on TikTok shared a video captioned "Pray for Spain," with the overlaid text "Valencia floods today." The post garnered 37,800 likes and was shared 7,552 times. 

Screenshot of the viral video on TikTok. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. The video actually shows a storm hitting the coastal town of Wimereux in France. 

What we found 

Clip 1

After conducting a reverse image search, we were unable to locate the exact viral video, but we found similar building structures and landscape images on Alamy (archived here), which claims that the video is from Wimereux in France.

While the viral video was captured from a higher angle, we used the distinct shape of the buildings and the hill in the background to accurately locate the area along the Wimereux seafront on Google Maps (archived here).  

Comparison of frames from the viral video with Google Maps. (Source: TikTok/Google Maps)

Clip 2

We geolocated the second location seen in the video to 26 Quai Hazebrouck (archived here), located in Wimereux, France. 

Comparison of the structures seen in the viral video and the location as seen on Google Maps. (Source: TikTok/Google Maps)

Clip 3

Through a reverse image search, we found an image which has a similar building on Alamy (archived here), a stock photo website. It claims to show the effects of storm Ciaran that hit the Wimereux Opal Coast, Pas-de-Calais, France, in 2023. Through comparison, we found that the buildings match the viral video. However, we couldn't independently verify when the viral clip was captured.

The Alamy image shows the buildings and blue structures similar to the viral video. (Source: Alamy)

We geolocated the place through Google Maps (archived here) and found the same building, small blue structures, and blue wall next to the path. 

 

This indicates that the clips are not from Valencia, Spain, and show the French coastal town of Wimereux. Logically Facts couldn't verify when the viral clips were captured, but our research confirms that the three clips are from France.

The verdict 

Our research shows that the viral video shows Wimereux City in France, not Valencia in Spain. It is unrelated to the recent flood in Spain.