Authors
A video with the claim of cattle being dragged away by floods in Wayanad, Kerala has gained popularity on social media platforms. One such social media post was tweeted on 8 August with the following text:
“A cattle farm being taken away by floods in Wayanad, Kerala, with the cattle getting a free ride!”
We verify the claim below.
Fact Check/ Verification
First, we performed a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes on InVid, a video verification platform. The search results led us to multiple news reports by La Jornada, Mexico’s leading daily newspaper.
An article published by La Jornada on 27 July titled “‘Hanna’ ocasiona inundaciones en Nayarit,” which translates to “’Hanna’ causes floods in Nayarit” includes a longer version of the video from the claim. The news report details how heavy rains due to hurricane Hanna caused massive flooding and loss of livestock in Nayarit. The video in context shows strong currents of a river that crosses the town of Zacualpan, Nayarit dragging away a herd of cattle from the banks of the river.
Another post on La Jornada includes a 59-second video showing the damage caused by hurricane Hanna. The video’s translated description reads as follows:
“The heavy and constant rains left by the Hanna meteorological phenomenon in Nayarit have caused flooding and livestock losses, both in San Blas and Compostela, the municipalities most affected so far.”
The above video includes a few keyframes similar to that of the claim’s video, though they were shot from slightly different angles.
More On Floods Caused By Hurricane Hanna In Mexico
Published on 27 July, a Youtube video titled, “River Drag Cattle. Everything is rescued Zacualpan Nayarit 07/27/2020” includes a longer version of the claim’s video. It’s description reads as follows: “Video: Las Varas, Compostela, #Nayari3t The Conchal River drags cattle from the torrential rains because of the remnants of #Hanna they left strong floods due to overflowing rivers and streams.”
UnoTv.com, a Mexican news service details how strong currents in the river El Conchal caused by hurricane Hanna dragged away cows in Nayarit.
You can read more news reports on the incident here and here.
This claim is shared at a time when several Indian states including Kerala face a flood-like situation due to heavy rains. Last week, a landslide swept through a tea plantation in Idukki district, Kerala.
Conclusion
Our research makes it clear that the tweet claiming a video showing cattle being dragged away due to floods in Wayanad, Kerala is misleading. The video in context is from Nayarit, Mexico which shows strong currents in El Conchal river caused by hurricane Hanna dragging cattle in its path.
Result: Misplaced Context
Our Sources
La Jornada: https://videos.jornada.com.mx/video/88013788/hanna-ocasiona-afectaciones-en-nayarit/
UnoTV.com: https://www.unotv.com/estados/nayarit/hanna-en-mexico-inundacion-en-nayarit-arrastra-a-vacas/
El Heraldo news article
Publimetro.com: https://www.publimetro.com.mx/mx/destacado-tv/2020/07/28/rio-desbordado-nayarit-arrastra-ganado-completo-vacas.html
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