Rescue footage misrepresented as North Carolina flooding aftermath
- Published on October 4, 2024 at 21:25
- 7 min read
- By AFP USA
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"In the foothills of the Appalachia, the breathtaking views reflect the beauty of God's creation, echoed in the hearts of the hardworking, reverent people who call the Blue Ridge home. The devastation we witness is heartbreaking but I believe that God's love runs deeper than the floodwaters," says the caption of a September 28, 2024 TikTok video with some 3.5 million views.
The post shares footage of flooded areas with keywords about western North Carolina, where deluges triggered by Helene caused widespread devastation.
Helene made landfall September 26 on the Florida Panhandle as a massive Category 4 hurricane, stranding residents, destroying homes and knocking out power for millions of people. The National Weather Service warned of "catastrophic and potentially life-threatening" flooding as the storm headed inland.
More than 210 people are confirmed dead after the storm, officials said October 3. A compilation of official figures by AFP confirmed 212 fatalities across North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) deployed disaster response teams in several states --- including North Carolina.
However, the visuals shared across TikTok, Threads, and X do not all depict the state.
Czech footage
Using a Google reverse image search, AFP found the first video showing a helicopter over a flooded area was taken earlier in September in Krnov, Czech Republic, which suffered widespread flooding and torrential rain after Storm Boris (archived here).
Local firefighter Lukas VejvarIt first posted the clip September 15 on Instagram (archived here).
"Together with the crew of the Czech Army helicopter, we rescued four members of volunteer firefighters from Krnov, who needed help themselves in rescuing people from flooded houses in wild water, the rescue of our colleagues was only possible by rescue helicopters," the Czech caption says.
The name of a Czechoslovakian soft drink company also appears on the trucks crossing the bridge in the video.
Destruction in Tennessee
Other footage shared online does show the aftermath of Helene, but it was not taken in North Carolina.
One clip depicts a bridge collapse in Afton, Tennessee. News Channel 11 on September 27 released the drone footage taken by a viewer (archived here).
Another image of an ambulance stuck underwater was taken in Erwin, Tennessee and shared by local resident Shannon Washburn on Facebook (archived here).
"This is Unicoi County Memorial hospital!!!! About 60 people, including my husband is on the roof waiting for evacuation," Washburn said in her September 27 caption.
FEMA announced a disaster declaration for Tennessee on October 2 (archived here).
North Carolina impact
Several images shared in the TikTok clip do show North Carolina -- specifically damage at Lake Lure Flowering Bridge near Asheville.
Local resident Kendal Schroering first shared the full video September 27 on Facebook (archived here). She also started a fundraiser to help rebuild the bridge (archived here).
FEMA made a disaster declaration for North Carolina, the state hardest hit by Helene, on September 28 (archived here).
AFP has fact-checked other claims about the storm here.
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