As a monsoon Rain in northeast India triggered landslides and deadly flooding, a video shared on social media, falsely claiming it showed the damage caused by floods in Guwahati, the capital of Assam. The video actually shows flooding in different states Himaal Pradesh in July 2023.
“Pray for Assam in the horror scene of Gauhati,” using the alternative spelling of Guwahati, the capital of Assam state, in the title of the Facebook video shared on June 3, 2025.
“Guwahati” was also superimposed on the video, which showed a violent torrent tearing apart street stalls.
It surfaced after flash floods and landslides caused by annual monsoon rainfall in northeastern states, with at least 30 people causing at least 30 in Assam (archived Link).
India’s annual monsoon season from June to September provides a respite for the hot summer heat, which is essential to replenish water supply, but also brings widespread death and destruction.
Dozens of people die every year due to mountain flooding and a mountainous landslide of 1.4 billion people nationwide.
Screenshot of False Facebook post, captured on June 15, 2025
The same video was also shared in similar Instagram and X posts.
Several low-lying areas in Guwahati have been flooded recently, with hundreds of families forced to abandon their homes and seek shelter elsewhere, but the video circulating online was shot two years ago (a link to archive).
Reverse image searches on Google using the keyframe of the wrongly shared video resulted in the same shot (archive link) posted on Instagram on September 8, 2024.
It is titled “Sainj Valley Flood 09/07/2023”. Sainj Valley is located in the Kullu district of Himaal Pradesh State (link to archive).
AFP reported In July 2023, heavy rain washed away vehicles, demolished buildings and tore the bridges in Himaal Pradesh, the worst country in the state affected by ruthless monsoon rainfall at the time (release link).
Comparison of screenshots of error sharing clips (left) and videos released in September 2024 (right)
The same Instagram account also posted a similar video, which was on July 9, 2023 (archive link) in the same area.
“As far as I know, the video has been about two years since about two years since the huge floods occurred in the Sainj valley,” the user told AFP on June 15, 2025.
In addition, a photo is AFP reporter Includes elements similar to those seen in the loop video.
Compare screenshots of fake shared clips (left) and photos sent by AFP reporters (right) and highlight the corresponding features
AFP has previously debunked other false claims related to the Indian monsoon season.
