Telangana Visuals Falsely Shared as Footage of Cyclone Arnab
Claim: These visuals are related to Cyclone Arnab and show heavy rains in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Fact: The video is from Burgampadu in Telangana. A tornado caused destruction in the Bhadradri district, with several large trees and electricity poles uprooted in Morampalli Banjara. Roofs of houses were also blown away by strong winds. There is no truth in the viral claim.
We conducted a Google reverse image search using screenshots from the viral video and found that several Telugu media organisations had uploaded the same video. Our keyword search also found reports about the storm in Morampalli. The reports said a tornado caused destruction in Bhadradri district, uprooting large trees and electricity poles in Morampalli Banjara. Strong winds blew away roofs, while snapped electricity wires caused panic among villagers. Autos on the road were also swept away, and trees fell on several houses, causing property damage. The archived links can be viewed here and here.
Reports further said that strong winds swept through the bus stand centre for about a minute, blowing away sheets from rooftops. Trees were uprooted at several places, while hoardings and pushcarts were blown onto the roads. A pushcart was also swept away. The sudden gusts of wind left traders and local residents frightened, while fallen trees and other debris on the roads disrupted traffic. We also found that The Daily Siasat shared an uncropped version of the same video on Facebook on September 24.
The video was also posted on the Times of India Hyderabad X (formerly Twitter) profile. The @TOIHyderabad post said the visuals were from the Burgampadu area of Bhadradri Kothagudem district. Therefore, the viral video appears to show strong winds in Morampalli Banjara near Burgampadu in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district and is not related to Cyclone Arnab or heavy rains in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
For more credible fact checks from Telugu Post, a signatory of IFCN (International Fact Checking Network), click here . Read this article from Telugu Post for more details.
