This is a doctored photo of a beach in Brazil -- no tsunami warning was issued in southern Philippines after a recent earthquake
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 29, 2019 at 10:30
- 3 min read
- By AFP Philippines
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The photo was published in this Facebook post on October 18, after a powerful earthquake rocked the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on October 16.
The 6.4-magnitude earthquake left at least five people dead and 53 injured, according to this AFP report.
The photo purports to show large waves about to hit a beach filled with people.
One post caption written in a mix of English, Tagalog and Visayan says: “BREAKING NEWS - Places that could possibly be hit by tsunami following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in the waters of GovGen, Davao Oriental. Those living in coastal areas are advised to evacuate. Compostela Valley / Davao del Norte / Dava del Sur / Davao Oriental / Davao City / Sarangani / South Cotabato / Agusan del Norte / Agusan del Sur / Surigao del Norte / Surigao del Sur / Spread immediately so everyone is alert! I implore you don’t let this happen lord God take care of all save your people God Amen”.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The places listed in the post are all in the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
The same photo was published with an identical caption on Facebook here.
The claim in the posts is false; the photo has been doctored to include a purported tsunami wave. A reverse image search and subsequent keyword search found the original photo published in this post on stock photo website UIHere.
It shows Ipanema beach in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Below is a screenshot of the photo published by UIHere:
The photo was mirrored and altered to add the giant tsunami waves seen in the doctored photo.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photo (L) and the original photo (R):
A Google user image tagged at Ipanema beach could be seen on Google Maps here.
Below is a screenshot of the image on Google Street View:
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology did not issue a tsunami warning after the October 16 earthquake in Mindanao.
Below is a screenshot of the agency’s log of tsunami advisories for 2019:
The latest tsunami information was published on September 30 after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile on the other side of the Pacific ocean.
The document states in part: “No destructive tsunami threat exists based on available data. This is for information purposes only and there is no tsunami threat to the Philippines from this earthquake.”
The same doctored photo and claim previously gained huge traction on Facebook in December 2018 in this post which was shared more than 47,000 times. It was published after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on December 29, 2018 rocked the Governor Generoso municipality in Davao Oriental province.
The agency did issue a “minor sea level disturbances” advisory following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Governor Generoso on December 29, 2018.
It warned residents of the same 11 places listed in the misleading posts “to stay away from the beach and not go to the coast” until the tsunami threat has passed.
The agency lifted the tsunami advisory a few hours later.
AFP previously debunked a similar misleading tsunami warning which circulated Facebook in April 2019.
It had an almost identical claim but used a different photo of a storm in Sydney, Australia.
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