Old India cyclone visuals misrepresented online as recent monsoon

Published on August 26, 2025 at 10:40
4 min read
By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India

Relentless rains have caused deadly floods and landslides across India, but online videos that purport to show downpours and waves in the western city of Mumbai are unrelated. The clips were taken during a cyclone in 2021.

"The situation in Mumbai is dire. The sea is roaring and heavy rain in front of the Gateway of India. View outside the Gateway of India and Hotel Taj Mahal Palace. #MumbaiRains," reads a Hindi-language X post shared August 19, 2025.

The video shows strong waves crashing against a large building on the shoreline while several people stand in the water nearby.

Screenshot of the false X post taken August 21, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Indian media reported in mid-August that flights were diverted and local train services disrupted in Mumbai due to heavy rainfall, while hundreds of people were evacuated from floods (archived link).

The country has seen two deadly flooding disasters in August, killing more than 100 people in the northern Himalayan region (archived link).

But the video circulating online was filmed in 2021 and shows the effects of Cyclone Tauktae.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip found it earlier uploaded to YouTube on July 23, 2021 (archived link).

The title reads: "Mumbai Rain, Gateway of India, Taj Hotel."

Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the 2021 video

At least 155 died, and thousands lost their homes after the cyclone hit the western coast of India in May of that year (archived link).

Indian news outlet ABP News published a report from the same location with similar visuals (archived link). AFP geolocated the videos to the Gateway of India (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of video in false posts (L) and corresponding Google Maps imagery

The monument has featured in other misrepresented visuals of recent flooding in Mumbai, including a video shared August 19, 2025 on X.

"Mumbai Battles Torrential Rains Amid Dramatic Scenes at Gateway of India. Floodwaters Surround Gateway of India and Hotel Taj and Wreak Havoc," the caption says.

A keyword search on YouTube found the video was uploaded by the Indian news outlet News 18 on May 17, 2021 (archived link).

"Maharashtra: Water Flooding Around Gateway Of India & Hotel Taj As Cyclone Tauktae Wreaks Havoc," the title says.

Screenshot comparison of false post (L) and video from News 18

Other news outlets shared the same footage (archived here and here). AFP captured similar images in the area during Cyclone Tauktae.

Waves lash over following Cyclone Tauktae at the Gateway of India in Mumbai on May 17, 2021 (AFP / Sujit Jaiswal)

AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about flooding in South Asia here.

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