A video showing waves lashing a beach in Durban, South Africa has been online since at least 2017. The clip has been miscaptioned online as if showing a tsunami in Turkey, following the devastating earthquake that struck the country on Feb. 6.
Examples can be found on Facebook (here) (here) and Twitter (here) (here).
Reuters could not independently source the clip, captured from above and showing people running from the waves; but it has been online since at least March 12, 2017 (here), (here) in posts identifying the footage as filmed in Durban.
Outlets reported large sea swells at the time (here), (here), (here). The news reports feature imagery from other angles showing the same scene circulating on social media.
Reuters geolocated the footage to South Beach, Durban, near a water park (goo.gl/maps/KQEspMDu21GyBLm68). A similar view of the beachfront is viewable on Google Maps (goo.gl/maps/Bk6Wf6DHYgr6gkcs8), see a comparison: (ibb.co/THpqpjc).
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and neighboring Syria early on Feb. 6, 2023, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring thousands of others, Reuters reported (here).
The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) on Feb. 6 said there was no threat of a tsunami at the time to the eastern Mediterranean coastline following the earthquakes (here).
Misinformation is often circulated online following catastrophic events. Such misinformation can include mislabeled imagery of the aftermath or false claims on the rescue efforts.
Reuters has tackled other footage wrongly linked to the Turkey-Syria earthquake (here), (here), (here), (here), (here).
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. The video shows a heavy tidal wave on a beach in Durban, South Africa, and dates to 2017.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.