Video of dogs surrounded by flood waters after Typhoon Yagi was recorded in Vietnam, not Myanmar

Published on October 10, 2024 at 06:59
4 min read
By Lam NGUYEN, AFP Thailand, AFP Vietnam

A video of 10 dogs surrounded by flood waters in Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi hit the country in September has been viewed hundreds of times on social media alongside false claims that the dogs were filmed during recent floods in Myanmar. However, the video was recorded on the Red River in Vietnamese capital Hanoi, the dogs' owner confirmed to AFP.

"If I were in Yangon, I would contact Naypyidaw and rescue them," read part of the Burmese caption on a Facebook post from September 12, 2024, referring to Myanmar's largest city and its capital.

"It is such a pity for them. They are calling out for help. All I can do is share blessings from all the merits that I have done. Be safe everyone and animals," it added.

The 13-second clip, with more than 750 views, shows eight barking dogs perched atop a thatch roof and surrounded by muddy flood waters, with two other dogs barking nearby.

Screenshot of false Facebook post taken on October 8, 2024

Typhoon Yagi battered Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand in September, triggering floods and landslides that left hundreds dead around the region, AFP reported on September 28 (archived link).

At least 299 people were killed in Vietnam, while officials in Myanmar have confirmed 433 fatalities with 79 still missing, according to AFP.

The typhoon was the strongest to hit northern Vietnam in decades, bringing powerful winds and a deluge of rain to the country's densely populated Red River delta.

The same footage in the false post was shared alongside similar claims on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

The clip seemed to trigger the empathy of Burmese animal lovers.

"They are saying take them away. I feel sorry for them," one user commented.

"I feel so sorry for them. Because I'm a dog lover, I'm heartbroken when I see that kind of thing.... Please don't neglect them and rescue them," another commented.

However, the claim is false. The video was recorded in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.

Dogs from Vietnam

An AFP journalist in Hanoi confirmed that a person heard off-camera in the clip is repeatedly saying "Calm down" in Vietnamese.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video in the false post led to a higher-quality Facebook video uploaded on September 11 by a page called "Think Playgrounds", a local organisation that assisted in animal rescues during the flooding (archived link).

"Update on September 13th: We would like to close this post. Further rescue operations today will be carried out by the pages 'Sân Nhà Nhiều Chó' and 'Trạm cứu hộ chó mèo Hà Nội - Center of Pet Animal Protections and Studies,' in collaboration with other rescue teams," read part of the Vietnamese caption.

"On September 12th, the rescue team successfully rescued an additional 28 dogs and eight cats. This brings the total number of dogs we've helped rescue to 68," it added.

Screenshot of the video uploaded by Think Playgrounds, taken on October 8, 2024

Nguyen Tieu Quoc Dat, the co-founder of Think Playgrounds, told AFP that the organisation received the video from Le Huong Le, the dogs' owner, on September 11 when she asked for help to rescue her dogs.

Le confirmed to AFP that the dogs belonged to her and the location in the video was Hanoi's Tu Lien Ward on the bank of the Red River.

"On that day, it was chaotic due to the heavy typhoon. Some of my neighbours saw the dogs, filmed them and posted it in the community group," Le told AFP on October 2.

"I was just so worried for the dogs. I wanted to get a boat to rescue them but the area was flooded. I couldn't reach," she added.

Pham Trung Anh, an animal rescue coordinator of the Center of Pet Animal Protections and Studies, told AFP on October 3: "We went over to help move her two dogs first as the authorities were focusing on rescuing people by evacuating residents, and they were not able to save pets or property."

"In the end, we managed to bring Ms. Le's dogs and 99 other animals, including dogs, cats and one goat, to a safe place. We brought them to a shore and began looking for their owners," he said.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (left) and the video uploaded by Think Playgrounds (right):

Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (left) and the video uploaded by Think Playgrounds (right)

AFP previously debunked false information related to Typhoon Yagi here, here and here.

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