Inundated New Zealand store misrepresented amid New York flooding

"Store in New York City flooded," says one of several September 30, 2023 posts sharing the clip on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

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Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter, taken October 2, 2023

Similar posts spread across X and other platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, after heavy overnight rains in the United States left parts of New York underwater on September 29, partially paralyzing subways and airports in America's most populous city.

But while the floods inundated some New York City stores, the video of shoppers trudging through submerged grocery aisles shows a scene filmed months earlier -- and on the other side of the world.

The footage appeared on TikTok as early as January 27, 2023 (archived here and here), a reverse image search revealed.

The posts said it showed a flooded PAK'nSAVE location on Wairau Road in Auckland, New Zealand.

The New Zealand discount food warehouse chain said in a statement the day after the rains (archived here) that three of its stores were closing temporarily, including the Wairau location, which also posted on Facebook about the shutdown (archived here).

"Yes, this footage is our store," PAK'nSAVE Wairau told AFP via Facebook Messenger. "Flooded last January 27, 2023."

Several New Zealand news outlets featured the grocery store video in their coverage of the floods (archived here, here and here). Store owner Quintin Porter said at the time the destruction was significant.

"The store had been steeped in knee-deep water," Porter told the New Zealand Herald. "Every piece of machinery was damaged."

AFP further confirmed the location by matching the aisle in the footage to publicly available Google Maps photos showing the area between signs for "Milk" and "Fruit & Vegetables," with one picture capturing the water damage (archived here and here).

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Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter, taken October 3, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

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Screenshot from Google Maps photos taken October 3, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

 

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Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter, taken October 3, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

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Screenshot from Google Maps photos taken October 3, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

 

Numerous videos on the PAK'nSAVE Wairau Facebook page also show the same aisle, including from different angles.

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Screenshots from X, formerly known as Twitter, taken October 3, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

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Screenshots from Facebook taken October 3, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

 

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about other floods, such as those that recently devastated Libya.