Videos from Ghana falsely shared as scenes in Lagos as floods hit West Africa
- Published on August 6, 2026 at 09:41
- 4 min read
- By Samad UTHMAN, Mike YAMBO, AFP Nigeria, AFP Kenya
Heavy rainfall has caused widespread flooding along the West African coast in recent weeks, affecting several countries, including Nigeria. Amid the disaster, social media users have shared videos purportedly showing flooding in Nigeria's Lagos state. However, AFP Fact Check found that some of the clips were recorded in Ghana.
“As the rain swept items from an unknown warehouse through the gutters, some people turned the flood into a free shopping spree. The heavy rain carried provisions, toiletries, gas cylinders and electrical gadgets here in Lagos,” reads the caption of a Facebook post published on June 29, 2026.
Lagos is Nigeria’s economic capital.
Shared more than 100 times, the post was published alongside a video showing people collecting items swept away by raging floodwaters while others watched from a bridge.
A similar claim was shared on Instagram.
Separately, an X post published on June 30, 2026, shared a video claiming to show a person being swept away by floodwaters in Lagos.
"Isn't this someone being swept away by floodwaters in Tinubu's Lagos?" reads the caption, originally written in Pidgin. "Just because he wants to steal money, Tinubu has brought trouble upon Lagosians using Nigeria's money.”
The post refers to President Bola Tinubu, who governed Lagos from 1999 to 2007. He became president in 2023 and is seeking re-election in January 2027 (archived here).
Lagos flooding
Heavy rainfall in late June and early July triggered widespread flooding across Lagos, submerging roads and homes in parts of Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and other low-lying areas, leaving commuters stranded and disrupting businesses and airport operations (archived here).
The flooding followed repeated warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Lagos state government that peak rainfall in July could trigger flash floods, river overflows and rising water levels across the state (archived here).
Authorities attributed the flooding to intense rainfall, blocked drainage channels and rapid urbanisation. The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) said that the downpours were forecast and warned that more flooding could occur as the rainy season continues (archived here).
However, the two clips circulating online do not show flooding in Lagos.
Ghana footage
Using Google Lens to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes, AFP Fact Check traced the first clip to a Facebook post published by a page called KDN on June 29, 2026 -- the same day the video in the claim was shared (archived here).
“Accra Floods: Residents at Community 18, Toyota Roundabout go #Freeshopping as the rains sweep provision items and other gadgets,” reads the caption of the post. Facebook data indicates that a Ghanaian blogger runs the account.
Several features in both videos match, including a billboard structure, the Evergreen-branded shipping containers and surrounding buildings.
Using keywords from the caption, AFP Fact Check further matched the features identified in the video to satellite imagery, geolocating the footage to the Toyota Roundabout in Accra, corroborating the location mentioned in the KDN post.
The green and maroon shipping containers and the adjacent building are visible in satellite imagery.
The heavy rainfall in West Africa also caused widespread flooding in Ghana, inundating homes and major roads, particularly in the capital Accra, and surrounding areas (archived here).
The floods, which affected more than seven regions across the country, killed at least 34 people and displaced more than 89,000 others, according to Ghanaian authorities (archived here).
AFP Fact Check also conducted a reverse-image search on the second video, and the results led to the same footage published on June 29, 2026, by Ghanaian radio broadcaster Citi 97.3 FM (archived here).
“A child in a kiosk being swept away by the flood. This is the painful reality of what happens when our drains are choked and our waterways are blocked. Heavy rains turned streets into raging rivers, sweeping away lives, homes, and dreams in seconds,” reads the caption of the video published on the broadcaster’s official Facebook handle.
A subsequent search using the "ChannelOne TV" logo visible on Citi's video led to the original TikTok post published the same day with the same caption (archived here).
@channel1tvgh A child in a kiosk being swept away by the flood. This is the painful reality of what happens when our drains are choked and our waterways are blocked. Heavy rains turned streets into raging rivers, sweeping away lives, homes, and dreams in seconds. #ChannelOneTV #CitiNewsroom #AccraFloods #GhanaNews
♬ original sound - Channel One TV
Using visual clues from the footage, AFP Fact Check geolocated the video to Alogboshie Street in Accra.
Additionally, we geolocated the video by matching the surrounding buildings and the bridge visible in the footage with satellite imagery. Distinctive features, including the coloured roofing sheets and the bridge spanning the river, aligned with those observed in the satellite images, confirming the location.
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
