Hoax warning about a 'crack in a Philippine lake' fuels fears of further flooding

"Village, city and disaster officials in Ozamiz city had an emergency meeting because there was a crack found at Lake Duminagat at Mt. Malindang," claims a Visayan-language warning shared on Facebook on December 27.

"They said we should prepare," it adds.

Bad weather struck in late December as the Catholic-majority nation of 110 million people prepared for a long Christmas holiday.

AFP reported at least 51 people were killed and more than 270,000 were left seeking emergency shelter as downpours inundated the country's central and southern regions. This included 19 people killed by drowning or rain-induced landslides in the Misamis Occidental province, where Ozamiz city is located.

Lake Duminagat is a volcanic crater lake on the inactive volcano Mt. Malindang, also located in Misamis Occidental.

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Screenshot of false post taken on January 4, 2023.

The warning was also shared here, here and here on Facebook, stoking fears of more flooding in the area.

"Dear God, protect us!" one commented.

"In Jesus' name, take care of my family, relatives & friends and everyone. Lord protect them from this coming calamity, first time in the whole of Misamis Occidental!" another wrote.

No official meeting

Local officials, however, said the claim was false.

Silbon Montefalcon, a disaster officer at Don Victoriano Chiongbian town where Lake Duminagat is located, told AFP his team visited the lake on December 28 and found no signs of a crack.

"Those [social media posts] are not true," he said.

Montefalcon also shared photos of the visit here on Facebook.

"Our tourist spot is still nice to explore," his post states. "I hope this eases the worries of our people in the lowland and coastal areas."

Rico Guangco Jr, an official at the local disaster agency in Ozamiz, also told AFP on January 3 that there was "no crack at Lake Duminagat". He went on to say there was "no meeting among city officials about this".

Ozamiz Mayor Henry Oaminal Jr also said the claims are "fake" in a statement released by his media office on Facebook on December 27.

"It's not true that Lake Duminagat has a crack. Only believe news and posts from official and legitimate pages," the statement read.

'Impossible' scenario

Angel Jumawan, a superintendent for the Mt. Malindang natural park, told AFP it was "impossible" for a crack to develop on the crater lake after the rains.

"[A crack] may occur if an earthquake happened, but not because of the rainfall", he told AFP on December 29.

He added the lake itself was not recently flooded despite heavy rains in its surrounding areas.

"The flooding happened on the eastern side of the mountain range. Lake Duminagat is located on the western side."