Fact-checking viral images and videos from Hurricane Ian

Ian was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Thursday, Sept. 29, in the future after making landfall on Florida’s southwest coast. The storm dropped heavy rains and created storm surges that prompted flooding and led to inland rescues and evacuations.

Many social media posts declare to point out surprising images from the storm. The VERIFY crew has been fact-checking viral content material to find out what’s actual and what isn’t. 

Was an elephant seal seen scooting alongside a Florida sidewalk throughout Hurricane Ian?

The video, posted to Twitter on Sept. 28, had greater than 12 million views.

No, an elephant seal was not seen scooting alongside a Florida sidewalk throughout Hurricane Ian. The elephant seal video was taken in October 2020 in Puerto Cisnes, Chile.

According to Infobae, an Argentinian news outlet, the elephant seal traveled 10 blocks in an space often known as the most important city middle within the metropolis of Puerto Cisnes, Chile. With the assistance of residents within the space, the seal was transported again to the ocean by the Chilean navy.

The rescue mission was recorded live on Facebook in October 2020 by a neighborhood radio DJ.

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Was a video exhibiting folks on a balcony with drinks as lightning strikes taken throughout Hurricane Ian?

The video clip, shared by multiple accounts on Sept. 28, had tons of of hundreds of views on Twitter. It had greater than 1 million likes on TikTok.

No, the video wasn’t taken throughout Ian. It was shared on-line a number of occasions earlier than the storm made landfall in Florida, although it was taken in Fort Myers, Florida.

Using RevEye, a reverse picture search software, VERIFY discovered a number of situations the place the video was shared previous to Ian turning into a named storm.

The video was posted on Reddit on Aug. 30. This 12-second video was posted to Facebook on Sept. 12. It was also posted on Imgur, a picture and video sharing platform, on Sept. 15, a couple of week and a half earlier than Ian made landfall.

Using Google Maps Streetview, VERIFY was in a position to pinpoint the precise location the place the video was taken – from the rooftop of the Lani Kai Island Resort in Fort Myers Beach. The similar buildings seen within the video could be seen from Google Maps.

The similar 7-11 comfort retailer could be seen throughout the road from the Lani Kai resort the place the video was taken, and proper throughout the road from that, the identical blue constructing.

Does this photo present a shark swimming on a Florida freeway in Ian’s floodwaters?

The photograph, posted to Twitter on Sept. 28, had greater than 28,000 retweets and over 300,000 likes.

This photograph circulates almost every hurricane season. This instance was shared in 2018 in connection to Hurricane Florence, which wreaked havoc on the Carolinas. Here it was shared throughout Hurricane Sandy, and here throughout Hurricane Irma.

The picture was truly lifted from a September 2005 subject of Africa Geographic. The unique photograph reveals a shark trailing a kayaker, and was later manipulated to seem like a shark was swimming by an interstate lane.

Were zoo flamingos really moved to a basement bathroom forward of the storm?

Some folks commenting on the photograph claimed that they had seen that picture earlier than the storm struck Florida on Sept. 28.

The flamingos are residents of Sunken Gardens park, a botanic park based mostly out of St. Petersburg, Florida. The park tweeted the photograph from their official account on Sept. 28, saying the flamingos had been protected from the oncoming storm. 

“We’re hunkered down! Our animals are safe w/staff on site to see them through the storm. The flamingos are having a hurricane party in the bathroom; eating, drinking, & dancing. Stay safe out there!” the tweet stated.

People on social media may need been confused as a result of this isn’t the primary time zookeepers have posted photos of flamingos in services forward of a storm.

In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, hit Florida and on the time, Miami Zoo’s Ron Magill took a photograph of flamingos huddled up. 

On the 30 yr anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, Magill tweeted concerning the well-known photograph, writing, “Of the countless images I have captured in my life, none is more iconic than this one. I can’t believe it has been 30 years since Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida. I’ll never forget capturing this image of the zoos flamingos huddled in the ladies restroom for protection.”

If you’ve gotten questions or need one thing confirmed, the VERIFY crew is right here for you. Send your inquiries to [email protected] in order for you the crew to fact-check any claims you see on-line or hear in particular person.