Old video of Florida hurricane misrepresented as Philippines storm

Published on October 7, 2025 at 08:23
2 min read
By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand

Years-old footage of surging floodwaters during a hurricane in the southeastern United States has resurfaced in social media posts falsely claiming it shows the impact of a storm that pummelled the Philippines. The video in fact shows a storm surge caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022, in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

"Storm hits the Philippines. Within a minute, the place turned into the sea. So scary," reads Thai-language text superimposed on a Facebook video shared on October 1, 2025.

The video, which has been shared more than 2,000 times, shows a building next to a road as a storm rolls in, with floodwaters steadily rising. The storm surge strengthens and rips the building from its foundations, carrying it away.

The post surfaced days after Typhoon Bualoi battered small islands in the central Philippines -- killing 37 people and forcing 400,000 people to evacuate -- and before the country's weather forecaster warned of dangerous flooding in coastal areas as Tropical Storm Matmo was set to hit the disaster-weary nation (archived here and here).

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions of people live in poverty.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on October 3, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same footage was also shared elsewhere in similar Facebook and TikTok posts.

While Typhoon Bualoi unleashed floods, toppled trees and power pylons, and ripped roofs off homes in the Philippines, the video circulating online is old and was not filmed in the country.

AFP has also previously debunked false claims that the same video showed Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which devastated parts of the US southeast in a two-week stretch in September and October 2024.

Hurricane Ian, 2022

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage posted on September 29, 2022 on the YouTube channel of self-described "storm chaser" Max Olson (archived link).

The YouTube video's title reads: "15ft (4.5 metre) Storm Surge Washes Away Homes in Ft. Myers Beach - Hurricane Ian".

Hurricane Ian flattened communities when it hit the southern United States in September 2022, with wind-driven storm surges and immense downpours leaving even inland neighbourhoods submerged (archived link).

According to a report by the National Hurricane Center, Ian was responsible for at least 156 fatalities in the United States (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the YouTube video from September 2022 (right)

Olson's footage was also used in videos posted by US TV show Good Morning America and by The Washington Post (archived here and here).

Elements of the video also match Google Street View imagery taken in July 2022 from Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach, Florida (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the Google Street View imagery from July 2022 (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP

Olson posted an unedited version of the video on his YouTube channel in August 2023 (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked other posts that misrepresented old storm footage.

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