By: Ankita Kulkarni
June 19 2023
Video of tree falling over three men riding a two-wheeler not of cyclone Biparjoy's impact
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The viral video was captured in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in May 2023, days before Biparjoy even made landfall in India.
Claim ID 4ee4c661
Context
After its landfall in Gujarat, cyclone Biparjoy barrelled towards Rajasthan, where it caused heavy rainfalls in several districts on Saturday. Many areas reported waterlogging and a ‘Red’ alert was issued in at least three districts. The Indian Express reported that according to the Jaipur meteorological department, the cyclone had weakened into a depression and was headed in the northeast direction.
In the meanwhile, social media has been flooded with clips claiming to show the impact of the cyclone. One such video circulating on Twitter shows moments before a huge part of a tree collapses on a two-wheeler ferrying three people. The caption of one of the posts sharing the video read: “#BiparjoyCyclone When you venture out during cyclone falling trees are common, luckily both youngsters got away.” This post alone has garnered 55,000 views on Twitter so far. The video is also being shared on Facebook with the narrative it shows the effect of Biparjoy.
In Fact
A reverse image search of the keyframes taken from the video led us to a report published by NDTV on May 30, 2023. The report carried the same video and said it captured CCTV footage of a general view of traffic in Jodhpur in Rajasthan, which had been experiencing “freak weather.” According to the report, as the two-wheeler gets closer to the CCTV, a huge part of a tree falls on three men riding a scooter, almost crushing them. The report added that all three men were rushed to a local hospital and were discharged after treatment. The NDTV report stated that the video had emerged amid Rajasthan witnessing heavy rains and gusty winds in the last week of May.
The same video was also posted on YouTube on May 30, 2023, by the regional news channel News18 Rajasthan as part of a news segment. The viral clip starts playing from the 0:11 timestamp. The video report also mentioned that the incident occurred following heavy downpours that lashed Rajasthan in the last few days of May.
Several news outlets had reported parts of Rajasthan receiving heavy rainfall towards the end of May. An India Today report from May 29 said that the India Meteorological Department had forecasted intense thunderstorms and thunder squalls over the districts of Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, and Ajmer due to fresh western disturbance. Another report from the outlet, published on May 30, also noted that several parts of Rajasthan witnessed severe thunderstorms, due to which massive damages were reported to various power grids and electricity distribution systems.
Cyclone Biparjoy landed near Jakhau Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district only on the evening of June 15, before moving to Rajasthan and therefore proves that the video predates the cyclone.
The Verdict
The viral video captures an incident that took place in Rajasthan before cyclone Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat. Therefore, we mark the claim false.