Footage of a supposed Super Typhoon that will devastate the Philippines are circulating on social media. These are false. The clips show animated images of a 2018 hurricane in the United States.
Posted on TikTok on Sept. 9, the 20-second video bore two satellite footage showing the eye of a massive storm. The video bore the text: “Mata ng Super Typhoon (Eye of the Super Typhoon).”
Its caption also read:
“Super typhoon #philippines #GenerPH #supertyphoon #weatherreport #weatherupdatetodayph.”
Several Facebook (FB) users re-uploaded copies of the video. A post dated Sept. 12 carried the text:
“Ingat po ang lahat super bagyo ang darating bukas (Be careful everyone, a super typhoon is coming tomorrow).”
The clips are animations of satellite images of Hurricane Florence that hit parts of the U.S. in 2018.
On Sept. 16, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced that a low pressure area (LPA) had developed into a tropical depression called “Gener.” There was no forecast as of writing that it would be a “super typhoon.”
The first clip is an animation of a satellite photo of Hurricane Florence over the Atlantic Ocean taken and released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Sept. 12, 2018.
A user also uploaded a similar timelapse animation on stock photography platforms Adobe Stock and Pond5.
Similarly, the second clip was derived from a satellite image uploaded by German astronaut Alexander Gerst on X the same day six years ago.
The image was turned into an animated video uploaded on Istockphoto.com on Jan. 13, 2021.
Similar false claims about super typhoons that will pass through the country have been circulating among Filipino social media users this month.
The erroneous post was uploaded a day after PAGASA monitored an LPA within the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
According to PAGASA’s latest tropical cyclone bulletin, Gener was estimated in the vicinity of Ambaguio, Nueva Vizcaya with maximum sustained winds of 45 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 55 km per hour. Parts of Luzon are still placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 as it slightly weakens.
The video uploaded by TikTok user @banatbicol garnered 36,900 reactions, 815 comments, 1,845 shares and 1,200,000 views. A copy reposted by a FB user also garnered 213 reactions, 77 comments, 181 shares and 30,000 views.
