Several netizens falsely claimed that a bridge in Marikina collapsed amid Typhoon Carina’s onslaught this week.
The Facebook (FB) posts, one of which got shared over 1,200 times, carried an image that made it seem a portion of the bridge had dipped into the water. Six of the circulating posts published on July 24 bore the text:
“LOOK: The bridge near SM Marikina already collapsed. You can see numerous bystanders and vehicles near the collapsed area. The perimeter should be secured to avoid additional damage, and the bystanders asked to leave in case of further collapse.”
The structure, called Marcos Bridge, has not fallen into the Marikina River. The Marikina City local government has made no announcement of such an incident.
The circulating image is old and was taken during Typhoon Ulysses’ onslaught in 2020. It shows the remainder of a floating bridge (also referred to in reports as a barge) that crashed into the Marcos bridge.
VERA Files Fact Check tracked down one of the earliest versions of the photo from a post by a FB user on Nov. 12, 2020, a day after Ulysses made landfall.
Images of the same incident were featured in reports by several media organizations. The Philippine News Agency even published a video showing the moment the barge got caught on the Marcos bridge after being carried by the river’s strong current.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos also went to the Marcos Bridge on July 24 to inspect the water levels in the Marikina River. The structure was standing.
Misinformation often follows natural disasters, usually in the form of old photos and videos being circulated online with the wrong context. Be careful before sharing posts on social media. Visit our Fact Checks landing page to read other typhoon-related disinformation that VERA Files has debunked.
