Old family outing video falsely linked to 2026 Bangladesh monsoon floods
- Published on July 16, 2026 at 09:57
- 2 min read
- By Eyamin SAJID, AFP Bangladesh
Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in Bangladesh have killed at least 50 people and displaced thousands, but footage of a woman taking shelter on a tree in a submerged area does not show a flood victim as falsely claimed in social media posts. The clip circulated online in July 2024 and shows a woman at a popular tourist spot in the country, who confirmed to AFP the video is not linked to the recent disaster.
"A pregnant mother has climbed a tree with her nine-month-old unborn child to save her life," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post shared on July 11, 2026.
The post includes a video of a woman trying to position herself on a tree in a submerged area.
The video appeared in similar Facebook posts as monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides in early July, killing at least 50 people and displacing thousands across the country (archived link).
The country's southeastern Chattogram district remains the worst affected with homes, land, roads and markets inundated, forcing thousands of people to seek shelter in government-run centres.
Bangladesh media organisation The Business Standard reported the calamity also killed more than tens of thousands of livestock and poultry across the region (archived link).
Comments from users seeking "God's mercy on the flood victim" suggest they believed the claim is genuine, but the video actually shows a tourist enjoying a family trip.
Wetland tourist spot
Reverse image search on keyframes of the video found a similar footage shared in a Facebook post on July 15, 2024 (archived link).
The post mentions "Tanguar Haor", a natural water reservoir in Bangladesh's Sunamganj district declared as wetland of international importance under the Ramsar international environment treaty to protect wetlands (archived here and here).
Its diverse natural and aquatic features makes the site a popular tourist attraction in the country.
AFP reached out to the woman in the viral video who confirmed it was filmed during a "family outing" in July 2024.
"That is me in the video. My son filmed it on July 13, 2024 when we went to Tanguar Haor for a family trip," Anjana Abedin, a teacher by profession, told AFP on July 13, 2026.
"Some content creators have stolen the video from my page and posted it as a flood scene from Chattogram," she added.
In one of her recent Facebook posts, she refuted the claim and said the video showed scenes from "Tanguar Haor" (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked misinformation about disasters here.
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
