Video shows storm in Austria, not monsoon rains in northern Pakistan

The video showing a concentrated downpour over a lake nestled between verdant hills was shared on TikTok on August 2, 2025.

"Clouds Brust (sic) in Swat," reads the clip's superimposed text, referring to a district in Pakistan's mountainous northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The province has been hard hit by an unusually intense monsoon season, with torrential rains across the country's north triggering flash floods that have killed at least 400 people (archived link).

Swat -- as well as other severely affected districts in the province -- has been declared a disaster-hit area by the provincial government (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false TikTok post captured on August 22, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The video was also shared in similar Instagram posts.

But it does not show a cloudburst -- a sudden, localised downpour common in high-altitude areas that often triggers secondary disasters, such as landslides and flooding -- in Swat.

AFP previously debunked a similar claim the clip shows the cause of a deadly flash flood in northeast India.

Rainfall in Austria

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google led to a longer version of the same footage posted to YouTube on June 12, 2018 (archived link).

The falsely shared clip appears to have altered the aspect ratio of the YouTube video, which is titled "Tsunami from Heaven / Amazing Rainstorm Timelapse / Downburst / Microburst".

Its description also indicates it was filmed over Lake Millstatt in Austria.

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the YouTube video from June 2018 (right), with corresponding features highlighted by AFP

The same user also posted the video on Facebook on June 13, 2018 (archived link).

Its German-language caption reads: "Here is some original footage with original sound, for all who still think that it was a fake." It also includes a link to the YouTube video.

Moreover, the falsely shared clip matches Google Maps photos  of Lake Millstatt (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the June 2018 YouTube video (left) and a Google Maps photo of Lake Millstatt (right), with corresponding features highlighted by AFP

Further keyword searches found the footage was also used by the Washington Post and Europa Press in articles from June 2018 (archived here and here).

AFP has also fact-checked other false claims about the monsoon rains affecting South Asia.