Photos claiming to show homes being washed away by floods in Chapainawabganj have recently circulated on social media. However, a verification by Dismislab reveals that the images are not from Bangladesh. They depict flood scenes in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India, and are from at least a week earlier.

On August 14, a Facebook page named ‘PadmaTimes24’ shared three images, asserting they showed flood conditions in the border area of Narayanpur in Chapainawabganj. The post claimed homes in the area had been washed away by the river. The same images were also posted by multiple personal profiles (1, 2, 3) and in a group with over 40,000 members, all reiterating the same claim. In each case, the same three photos showed trees and houses collapsing in floodwaters.

Reverse image searches led to a video featuring the same scenes on the YouTube Shorts channel of Indian media outlet ‘First India News.’ The video was published on August 2 this year. According to its title and description, it documents the recent flood situation in Ballia, India. The description states, “Scenes of houses collapsing due to heavy rainfall have been captured on camera; severe erosion caused by the strong current of the Ganges is swallowing even concrete residential structures…” The same footage was also published on August 3 by another Indian YouTube channel, ‘Bharat er Awaj.’ A video from the ‘News18 UP Uttarakhand’ channel also confirms the same information.

A keyword search revealed that Indian media outlet ‘Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand’ included video footage of the original incident involving these images in one of its reports. The report discusses the flood situation in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, stating that many homes have been swept into the river due to intense erosion and that the area has suffered extensive damage. The specific incident took place in the village of Chakiya Nauranga in Ballia.

Therefore, the photos shared claiming to show houses in Chapainawabganj being washed away in floods are not from Bangladesh but from Chakiya Nauranga village in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Notably, at the beginning of August, sudden floods affected various parts of Uttarakhand due to heavy rain. Several districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Ballia, Kanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Agra, Ghazipur, and Mirzapur, were also affected. An orange alert was issued in Uttarakhand due to the heavy rainfall. According to the Meteorological Department, an orange alert signals a potentially hazardous situation within the next 24 hours due to very heavy rainfall, intense lightning, or dust storms.

Meanwhile, Chapainawabganj, a northern border district of Bangladesh, has also recently experienced flooding. Continuous rain and the opening of several gates at the Farakka Barrage have caused upstream runoff. As a result, water levels of the Padma River rose, inundating low-lying areas of Shibganj and Sadar upazilas. However, the latest reports indicate that the water level of the Padma is now starting to recede.

Original News Source: https://dismislab.com/factcheck/environment/chapainawabganj-flood-photo-factcheck/