Fact Check: Visuals Of Saudi Arabia's Flooded Roads Shared As Being From Tamil Nadu

Amid Cyclone Fengal's ongoing impact, Sri Lanka and parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are facing rough seas and strong winds. A video (here, here and here) has gone viral on social media, showing heavy rainwater flooding on roads and disrupting vehicles, with claims that it is from Marina Beach Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Let's find the truth behind this video. (The archived post can be found here.)

Claim: The viral video shows flooded roads and vehicles struggling to navigate near Marina Beach, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Fact: Chennai faced flooding due to Cyclone Fengal, which started on 25 November 2024. But the viral video, which shows heavy rainfall and flooding, is actually from 2 September 2024, when Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, experienced heavy rainfall. The viral video has no relation to the recent floods in Chennai, making the claim misleading.

To verify the claim, we performed a reverse image search on Google, which led us to a video posted on Facebook on 3 September 2024. The caption of the post reads, "Heavy rain in Jeddah city".

Another result points to the same video uploaded on YouTube by the account yahyafarsi1430, with a caption stating, "Heavy rainfall in Jeddah city on September 2." This further confirms that the video depicts scenes from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Further research using keywords from the YouTube video led us to several reports (here, here, here and here) detailing the flooding in Jeddah. On 2 September 2024, Jeddah experienced heavy rainfall leading to flash floods that caused significant disruptions. Roads were submerged, schools were closed, and authorities issued warnings for residents to avoid valleys and waterways. At least 5 people lost their lives during these floods, highlighting the severity of the situation.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Fengal originated in the Bay of Bengal on 25 November 2024 and intensified as it moved towards the Indian coastline. It made landfall on 25 November 2024, between Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, bringing heavy rainfall, strong winds, and severe flooding. Chennai faced significant disruptions, including waterlogging and road closures, with the cyclone claiming at least 19 lives, including 5 deaths in Chennai (here, here and here). However, the viral video circulating on social media has no connection with this incident.

To sum up, visuals of flooded roads from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were shared as being from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

(This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)