News Outlets Share 2020 Idukki Disaster's Image Shared as Wayanad Landslide

Several media outlets and social media users shared an image showing debris lying around on the ground after a landslide as one from Wayanad, Kerala.

This comes after over 150 people died and 186 others got injured after a series of landslides hit Wayanad district amid heavy rain on 30 July.

Who shared this?: News outlets including Outlook, North East Live, Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, All India Radio News, DD News, NDTV, Times Now Tamil, Amar Ujala, Zee News Hindi, Matrabhumi, English Jagran, ABP Live, Onmanorama, Swarjya, Deccan Herald and news agency IANS also shared the image as a recent one from Wayanad.

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This image dates back to August 2020 and is from Idukki landslide in Kerala.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a simple reverse image search on the image on Google and this led us to several old articles from 2020 carrying this same image.

• Reports by The Print, Hindustan Times, Onmanorama and The News Minute carried the same image and these reports were from August 2020.

• The reports state that Pettimudi in district Idukki of Kerala witnessed massive landslides leaving more than 60 people dead.

• The caption under this image on HT stated that the images shows debris lying around after landslide on 7 August 2020 in Idukki and also credits the image to news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).

More about current disaster in Wayanad: Kerala recorded 372 mm rainfall in 24 hours before three disastrous landslides hit Wayanad district in four hours on 30 July.

• The Army has successfully evacuated more than 1,000 people from affected areas of Wayanad so far.

• The weather department has predicted more rain and an alert has been issued for Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod districts. Four other districts are under orange alert, namely, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam.

Conclusion: An old photo from 2020 of a landslide in Idukki, Kerala is being falsely shared as a recent one from Wayanad.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)