Video of house flooding is from New Jersey in 2021, not recent scenes in Florida

A video of a house flooding with water is being shared on social media with the suggestion it shows scenes in Florida. But the clip comes from 2021 and was filmed in New Jersey. 

The footage shows a person walking through a room in ankle-deep water. After the person is out of sight, a wall collapses and floodwater fills the room. Text overlaid on the footage says: “House wall collapses in Florida hurricane”. 

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida on 9 October and has caused flooding across the state. At the time of writing, 16 people are confirmed to have died as a result of the storm. 

But this clip is actually a few years old and does not show scenes from Hurricane Milton.

It was shared on YouTube by a news channel in September 2021 with the caption: “Basement wall collapses in Cranford, NJ home”, referring to the US state of New Jersey.

The footage reportedly shows the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which caused flash floods in New York and New Jersey. Local media reported that the person seen in the clip had been able to exit the basement safely, but that two other family members had been trapped by the floodwater before being rescued. 

We’ve seen many examples of videos circulating on social media in recent days falsely claiming to show scenes from Hurricane Milton in Florida, including clips showing ‘twin tornadoes’ that were actually from Nebraska in 2014 and of traffic on a partially flooded road in Mumbai, India. 

Miscaptioned videos are a common form of misinformation during significant news stories, such as natural disasters. Before sharing clips online, it’s important to consider whether they show what they claim to, and our guide offers some tips on how to do this.