Mumbai Rains: Old Video From Chennai Shared As Waterlogging At Mumbai Airport

Claim

Viral video claiming to show severe waterlogging at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport amid the intense downpour lashing the city.

The archived version of Republic Media Network’s X post, sharing the video as scenes from the Mumbai airport, can be seen here.  Heavy rain has battered the country’s financial capital for five consecutive days, paralysing life with flooding, suspended trains, flight diversions and evacuation drives in low-lying areas.

We also received the same video from multiple users on our Whatsapp tipline (+91-9999499044), requesting us to fact-check it.

Fact

Newschecker noticed that several users pointed out in the replies to the viral posts that the 25-second video is old and not from Mumbai.

We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to this TimesNow post on X, dated December 4, 2023, stating that it showed the flooded runway at Chennai airport following heavy rainfall across the city owing to Cyclone Michaung.

Similar social media posts from December 4, 2023, sharing the video, can be seen here and here. According to the posts, several flights at Chennai airport had been cancelled and some diverted owing to the heavy rain and winds triggered by Cyclone Michaung.

Although there were several users pointing out that the viral video was even older, allegedly dating back to 2015, we could not yet independently ascertain the exact date. We can, however, confirm that it predates the ongoing extreme rainfall battering Mumbai. 

On a close analysis of the video, Newschecker also spotted a yellow board on the flooded runway with black numbering. They are geographical location markers or checkpoint coordinate signs that display latitude and longitude to verify the current location of the aircraft for navigation purposes.

We entered the latitude and longitude GPS coordinates, written in degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS) — 12° 59 ‘5.9 ” N 80° 9’ 47.686” E — on Google Maps, which showed the location as Chennai, Tamil Nadu. When we looked for directions to the point, it showed the destination as Meenambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which is where the Chennai International Airport (MAA) is situated, further confirming that the viral video is not from Mumbai.

Also Read: India Ditches US Dollar, Pushes BRICS Countries To Trade Only In Rupees? Here’s What We Learnt

Sources
X post, Times Now, December 4, 2023
Google Maps