The post circulated as southern China – including the Guangxi Autonomous Region – was struggling heavy rain and flooding in June 2024.
At least 38 people have been killed in densely populated Guangdong province, where some areas suffered record flooding, according to state media. The provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou were also affected.
Scientists say climate change is making extreme weather events, such as heavy rain, more frequent and intense.
The photo was also shared on Facebook here, here And here, and published alongside other images of flooding here And here.
But the photo is old and not taken in Guangxi.
Typhoon of 2016
Image searches on Google and Baidu found that the photo shows the flooding in the city of Xiamen in China’s southeastern Fujian province in 2016.
The state administration China daily and a Taiwan-based newspaper The Times of Freedom published the photo of the flooded intersection after Typhoon Megi hit mainland China on September 28, 2016 (archived links) here And here).
Typhoon Meg hit China with heavy rain and wind speeds of about 120 kilometers per hour, bringing more than 300 mm of rainfall in several areas, according to the official Xinhua news service.
AFP too distributed a photo of the flood from a different angle.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the fake news (left) and the photo from AFP’s archives (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP:
The caption of the AFP photo states that streets are flooded with water caused by Typhoon Megi in Xiamen on September 28, 2016.
AFP geolocated the building along the intersection of Wusi Road and Hualin Road in Xiamen City, as seen in Baidu Maps Street View imagery from 2015 (archived link).
The street scene shows the roof dome of the gray building and the taller white building next to it.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image used in the fake messages (left) and the Baidu Maps Street View (right):
AFP has previously debunked misrepresented flood photos here, here And here.
