Video shows floods in Valencia, Spain.
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No, this video doesn’t show floods in Valencia, Spain. It’s from other disasters in Europe
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These videos are not from the Oct. 29 floods in Valencia, Spain.
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The clips are from flooding disasters that happened September 2024 in Central Europe.
Unprecedented flash floods caused by heavy downpours Oct. 29 in eastern Spain left at least 150 people dead after they swept away cars, disrupted trains, deluged highways and left many people trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses.
Although images of the deadly disaster have been widely reported, some social media users have been sharing footage from other natural disasters and claiming they happened in Valencia, Spain.
An Oct. 31 Facebook post shows images of water currents flooding buildings and streets and sweeping away cars and debris. The text overlaying the post says, "Valencia floods today. Pray for Spain."
The video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
These clips are not from the flooding in Valencia; they predate the disaster.
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PolitiFact did a reverse-image search of the first clip and found that this video shows flooding Sept. 15 in a rural town in the northern Czech Republic, not in Spain. According to Storyful News & Weather, a social media newswire, Tomas Simunek, a cinematographer and photographer, first shared the clip on TikTok.
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The Czech Republic was one of the countries affected by a storm that killed two dozen people across central Europe in September, according to The Guardian.
Our Sources
The Guardian, ‘We’re getting rid of everything’: floods destroy homes and lives in Czech Republic, Sept. 24, 2024
Facebook post, Sept. 26, 2024
TikTok post, Sept. 16, 2024
GoFundMe, Rebuilding Hope for Brantice Families Together, Sept. 24, 2024
Reuters, Residents of Polish town hit by flood hope to make homes liveable by winter, Sept. 22, 2024
Instagram post, Sept. 26, 2024
Google Translate, accessed Nov. 8, 2024
YouTube, Stronie Śląskie - powódź 2024, Sept. 26, 2024
TikTok post, Sept. 16, 2024
Storyful News & Weather, Storm Brings Heavy Flooding to Northern Town in Czech Republic, Sept. 20, 2024
Facebook reels, Oct. 31, 2024
The Associated Press, What to know about the unprecedented floods that killed more than 200 in Spain, Nov. 7, 2024
NBC News, Flash flooding leaves at least 51 dead in Spain, Oct. 30, 2024
CNN World, Severe flash flooding hits Spain, Oct. 30, 2024
Google Translate, Nov. 8, 2024
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No, this video doesn’t show floods in Valencia, Spain. It’s from other disasters in Europe
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