Amid heavy rains caused by Typhoon Carina and enhanced by Habagat (Southwest monsoon), two Facebook (FB) pages published photos which allegedly show recent flooding in Bacoor, Cavite. This needs context.
Published on July 24, the FB pages posted four images total: two featuring knee-deep flood near SM Bacoor, one showing commuters holding umbrellas while queuing on a submerged street, and one blurry photo of another flooded street.
One of the posts bore the caption:
“TINGNAN | lubog pa din sa baha ang ilang parte ng Bacoor kabilang na saTirona Highway malapit sa isang Mall.
(LOOK | Parts of Bacoor is still submerged in flood waters, including the Tirona Highway near a mall)”
A keyword search for photos of flooding in Bacoor revealed that two of the images posted by the FB pages were taken six years ago.
While some of the photos are misleading, it is true that parts of Bacoor are currently experiencing flooding.
The Bacoor Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office warned the public in a July 24 advisory that SM Bacoor and other nearby roads in the area have been flooded and are currently “not passable to light vehicles.”
The posts that needed context emerged as Carina further intensified while heading north to Taiwan. The typhoon enhanced the Habagat winds that brought heavy rainfall and devastated several regions in Luzon.
FB page Cavite TV (created on July 30, 2020) and Proud Caviteño (Oct. 4, 2017) published the photos, collectively garnering over 2,800 interactions, 400 comments and 3,300 shares.
