FACT CHECK: TikTok Video Shows Flooding In Japan, Not Israel

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

A video shared on TikTok purports to show recent flooding in Israel amid the country’s current conflict with Hamas.

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Verdict: False

The claim is false as the video shows a tsunami in Japan in 2011, not recent flooding in Israel.

Fact Check:

Israeli troops have arrested 22-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi on “suspicion of inciting violence,” according to Reuters. Tamimi, who has protested for years, is accused of creating an Instagram post calling for the killing of Israeli settlers, the outlet reported.

The TikTok video purports to show recent flooding in Israel. The over one-minute video opens with a clip showing a crowd watching floodwaters sweep away debris. In the second clip, multiple cars are pulled into the floodwaters.

The video does not show recent flooding in Israel amid the country’s current conflict with Hamas, however. Instead, the video shows a tsunami in Japan in 2011.

The first clip included in the TikTok video originally stems from an AFP report shared to YouTube in December 2011. “Japan tsunami debris starts to hit US coast,” the video’s title reads. According to the video’s caption, 20 million tons of debris were estimated to have washed out to sea following the tsunami in March 2011. The debris began appearing in the U.S. and Canada as a result, also according to the video’s caption.

Likewise, the second clip included in the TikTok video can be traced back to a Japan News Network report covering the tsunami. A translation of the video’s caption indicates the tsunami followed a 9.0-magnitude earthquake in Tohoku in March 2011 and the natural disaster killed 15,899 people.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Administration confirms the tsunami followed an earthquake, though it lists a death toll of over 18,000 as a result of the event. (RELATED: No, Video Does Not Show An Israeli Discussing Atrocities Caused By Hamas)

Furthermore, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports suggesting Israel experienced a recent flood amid its current conflict with Hamas.

Check Your Fact has contacted Israel’s Ministry of the Interior for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

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