On August 7, the India Meteorological Department issued a red alert for ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall in Kerala’s Idukki, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta, and Wayanad districts, as per a Down to Earth report. In the backdrop of this, a video of cows being washed away in floodwaters is circulating on social media. The claim suggests the clip is from Wayanad. Alt News received several requests to fact-check this on WhatsApp (+917600011160) and on our official Android application.
A Facebook user posted the viral with the title, ‘Cattle washed away due to heavy rains in Kottayam, Kerala‘.
Cattle washed away due to heavy rains in Kottayam, Kerala
Posted by Munnar Cottages Resorts on Saturday, 8 August 2020
Fact-check
Alt News performed a keyword search on YouTube and found that the viral video was uploaded by Atolo Kecil last month. As per the description, the video shows cows swept away in floodwaters in Nayarit, Mexico.
Using this as a clue, we performed a keyword search in Spanish ‘Las vacas son arrastradas por el agua de la inundación, Nayarit, México’ (translated from the text in Atolo Kecil’s video description and multiple news reports).
An article on Spanish website La Teja article carried a YouTube video by Imagen Televisión, a Mexican national news channel which broadcast the video on July 28. The description stated that the incident occurred in Zacualpan, Nayarit.
Uno TV a, Mexico-based content generator also reported on the incident. As per the report, the video shows cattle washed away in El Conchal river. The report includes a tweet by Brasil-based Conexão GeoClima which uploaded a video of the same incident from a different angle.
MUNDO – Vacas são arrastadas pela enxurrada após alto volume de chuva provocado pelo furacão #Hanna em Compostela, Nayarit, no México.
🎥 Las Varas Nayarit pic.twitter.com/CC9jKCb0fF
— Conexão GeoClima (@ConexaoGeoClima) July 27, 2020
Thus, a video from Mexico was shared as cows washed away in floodwaters in Wayanad, Kerala.
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