A post on X claims to show various scenes documenting the impact of hurricane Helene in Fort Myers, Florida.

This is looking like it’s going to be a complete disaster #helene

This is out of fort myers pic.twitter.com/g3SpGoQDda

— Frank Fighting For Freedom 🇺🇸 (@thinktankfranks) September 26, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

While the videos depict genuine hurricane footage, the footage is from separate storms.

Fact Check:

The death toll from hurricane Helene is expected to be well over 100 people, as multiple others are missing from the flooding rains, according to the Associated Press. Approximately 2 million customers are without power and aid into North Carolina has been delayed due to the extreme conditions, the outlet reported.

The post claims to show multiple angles of Helene’s impacts in Fort Myers. ” This is looking like it’s going to be a complete disaster,” the post’s caption reads. “This is out of fort myers.”

The footage is extracted from other storm videos. The first part of the footage claims to show 20-30 foot waves, but actually occurred Scituate, Massachusetts. The footage is from February 2021, when a large nor’easter impacted the state, causing significant waves, according to NBC10.

A second clip from a different location than the former which shows destruction from Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida in September 2022. Ian made landfall near Fort Myers as a Category 4 storm, with winds of 250 km/h and a storm surge exceeding 5 meters. Fort Myers was not directly impacted from Helene, but did see storm surge, according to Fox8.

A third scene is from Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Florida in August 2023. Idalia caused severe flooding and damage across the state, particularly in the northern regions. The final video, which the post claims is from Fort Myers, actually comes from Kure Beach, North Carolina, after a storm on September 16, 2024.

This is not the first time weather-related claims have been misrepresented online. For example, Check Your Fact previously debunked a viral post that purportedly showed the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in Jamaica.