Japan tsunami footage recirculates after August 2024 earthquake

Published on August 21, 2024 at 10:49
2 min read
By Ara Eugenio, AFP Philippines

Old footage of a tsunami hitting a city in eastern Japan's Miyagi prefecture in 2011 has been viewed more than one million times with a false claim it was recorded following a strong earthquake in August 2024. Authorities said only minor tsunamis were recorded after the recent quake hit southern Japan.

"JAPAN MAGNITUDE 7.1 AFTERMATH," reads text above a four-minute Facebook video viewed more than 1.5 million times since it was posted on August 11, 2024.

The footage appears to have been filmed from a rooftop, showing cars being swept away by torrents of water.

The text at the bottom of the video reads: "TSUNAMI EARTHQUAKE."

Screenshot of the false post taken August 20, 2024

The caption referred to a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Japan on August 8, in which no major damage was reported and only relatively minor tsunami waves lashed the coast (archived link).

Authorities warned about a potential "megaquake" after the jolt before it was lifted a week later.

The video was also shared alongside a similar false claim on Facebook and YouTube.

But it does not show a recent tsunami. The clip was taken during the worst natural disaster in Japan's living memory -- the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown of March 11, 2011 that left more than 18,500 people dead or missing.

Old tsunami footage

AFP previously debunked posts that falsely linked the clip to the collapse of a hydropower dam in Laos and a storm in Japan.

The clip matches footage published on YouTube by Fuji News Network (FNN) in October 2012, with a watermark that indicates it was taken on March 11, 2011 in the city of Ishinomaki in eastern Japan's Miyagi prefecture (archived link).

The YouTube video's caption states it was filmed by an employee from the rooftop of the Ishinomaki Gas building.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the false posts (left) and the FNN footage (right):

Screenshot comparison between the video in the false posts (left) and the FNN footage (right)

The video's location matches Google Maps imagery showing the three blue tube towers and two blue ball structures visible from the Ishinomaki Gas office (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the structures in the FNN video (left) and the location on Google Maps (right), with similarities marked by AFP:

A screenshot comparison of the structures in the FNN video (left) and the location on Google Maps (right)

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